Mac Miller’s ‘Balloonerism’ Becomes Late Rapper’s Eighth Top 10 Album
Six years after his death, Pittsburgh-based rapper Mac Miller posthumously appears on atop the Billboard 200 with “Balloonerism,” a 14-song set that dates back to 2014. Debuting at No. 3, “Balloonerism” grants Miller his eighth appearance in the top five of the list with 81,000 equivalent album units earned.
“Balloonerism” is Miller’s second posthumous album — “Circles,” arrived at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 upon its release in 2020 — spearheaded by his estate. In a social media post this past November, the estate described the project as being “of great importance to Malcolm — to the extent that he commissioned artwork for it and discussions concerning when it should be released were had regularly, though ultimately ‘GO:OD AM’ and subsequent albums ended up taking precedence.”
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Miller also launched four songs on this week’s Hot 100: “Funny Papers” at No. 77, “5 Dollar Pony Rides” (a lead single released Jan. 17) at No. 85, “DJ’s Chord Organ” featuring SZA at No. 95, and “Stoned” at No. 97.
Miller, who died at age 26, burst onto the scene in 2011 with his hip-hop debut, “Blue Slide Park.” The latter debuted at No. 1 on the albums chart, becoming Miller’s highest-charting effort to date, and making history as the first independently-distributed debut album to top the chart since 1995.
Leading the albums chart this week is Bad Bunny’s “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” with 151,000 equivalent album units and 199 million streams. SZA’s “SOS” is back at No. 2 after a short stint at No. 3; Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” is at No. 4; Gracie Abrams’ “The Secret of Us” is at No. 5, and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” is at No. 6. The year’s first new No. 1 album, Lil Baby’s “Wham,” slips to No. 7; Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” is at No. 8; Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” is at No. 9, and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” rounds out the top at No. 10.
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