"Bad" rapper Wale has debuted on the top of the Billboard 200 for the first time. The D.C. musician's third studio album The Gifted is the No. 1 album in the country this week, according to Billboard.com. The album sold 158,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Wale is best known for the company he keeps. The Gifted was released on Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, and the record featured huge acts such as Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Cee-Lo Green, Wiz Khalifa and Ross himself. Of course, that doesn't mean Wale can't hold his own.
Listen to "Bad" featuring Tiara Thomas from The Gifted below:
It's been a big summer for rap records on the Billboard charts. Last week, Kanye West's magnum opus Yeezus debuted at No. 1 while J. Cole's Born Sinner sat at No. 2. Hip-hop's June reign continued this week. Born Sinner held steady at No. 2 and West's Yeezus falling down to No. 3 on the charts.
Last week, Yeezus didn't sell quite as well as predicted, while Born Sinner exceeded expectations. The two rappers were pitted against each other in a race to No. 1. West outsold J. Cole by 30,000 copies (327,000 to 297,000).
However, this week J. Cole finally got the edge over West, with Born Sinner outselling Yeezus by almost 20,000 copies (84,000 to 65,000).
The Billboard 200 this week also includes Christian rock band Skillet at No. 4 with their new album Rise (60,000 copies) and Daft Punk's Random Access Memories at No. 5 (31,000 units sold).
LAST WEEK: Kanye West 'Yeezus' [UPDATE]: New Album 2013 Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 after topping Charts in U.K. and Australia
