Chance the Rapper has already earned rave reviews on his rap-gospel fusion mixtape, Coloring
Book, aka Chance 3. But now the Chicago rapper has a reached a whole ‘nother level of achievement based on popular demand. Billboard has reported that Coloring Book is the first-ever streaming-exclusive album to chart on the Billboard 200.
Coloring Book dropped on May 13 as an Apple Music exclusive and quickly rose up the charts thanks to a whopping 57.3 million streams. He’s no Drake (yet), but to debut at No. 8 – especially with such an underground sound – is a VERY impressive. The streaming numbers were calculated off of the 38,000 units Coloring Book sold. According to Billboard, each album unit is equivalent to 1,500 streams.
As mentioned, Drake still holds the record for streaming thanks to the recent release of VIEWS, which brought in 245.1 million streams during its first tracking week. Still, Chance broke into the Billboard 200 with a gospel-influenced mixtape that, if we’re being honest, isn’t too popular in the context of mainstream music. Drake, on the other hand, is making Dancehall-influenced music, which is a shoe-in fit for the club and a potential song of the summer (‘One Dance’ has to be it, right?).
Imagine if Chance was to raise his profile just a *little* more and put out radio-friendly music? With his loyal fan base, he could certainly come close to topping Drake’s record. Of course, fans like myself hope Chance resists the allure of Billboard charts and continues to focus on creating unique, introspective music. Keep doing your thing, Sir Chance.
Coloring Book is available for streaming and purchase on Apple Music.
