Perfect 10: Busta Rhymes Extends Top 10 Album Streak With ‘Blockbusta’

Busta Rhymes bounds back onto Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as his new effort, Blockbusta, debuts at No. 10 on the list dated Dec. 9. The set, released on The Conglomerate/Epic Records, becomes the rapper’s 10th top 10 album and extends his perfect streak among his original studio albums.

Blockbusta, which dropped on Nov. 24, earned just under 23,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of Nov. 24 – 30, according to Luminate. Traditional album sales contribute 14,000 of the first-week total, with streaming activity in second place, at a little below 8,000 units – equaling 11.1 million official on-demand audio and video streams of the album’s tracks. The remaining 1,000 units come from track-equivalent album units (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

As Blockbusta launches, it secures Busta Rhymes’ 10th top 10 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Of his 14 charted titles, the only set to miss the top tier was, perhaps ironically, the compilation The Best of Busta Rhymes, which charted for one week at No. 97 in 2001. With the list updating this week, here’s a full review of Busta Rhymes’ top 10 projects on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums:

Album Title, Peak Position, Peak Date
The Coming, No. 1 (one week), April 13, 1996
When Disaster Strikes, No. 1 (one week), Oct. 4, 1997
E.L.E.: Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front, No. 2, Jan. 2, 1999
Anarchy, No. 1 (one week), July 8, 2000
Genesis, No. 2, Dec. 15, 2001
It Ain’t Safe No More…, No. 10, May 3, 2003
The Big Bang, No. 1 (one week), July 1, 2006
Back on My B.S., No. 2, June 6, 2009
ELE 2: The Wrath of God, No. 4, Nov. 14, 2020
Blockbusta, No. 10 (to date), Dec. 9, 2023

The new album has already spun off two singles that have charted on some Billboard radio charts. “Beach Ball,” with BIA, reached No. 29 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in September, while “Luxury Life,” featuring Coi Leray, did one better, peaking at No. 28 on the same radio ranking last month.

Elsewhere, Blockbusta debuts at No. 6 on the Top Rap Albums chart and at No. 42 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Part of the latter’s fortunes are due to timing, with 10 Christmas or holiday-themed albums parked above it as the chart’s annual rush of holiday titles picks up steam as the season approaches.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.