Pusha T and Malice recently made their return as Clipse on the new album Let God Sort Em Out, and Travis Scott and the JACKBOYS followed just a few days later with JACKBOYS 2. For many reasons, this blockbuster lineup and its sales comparisons captivated a lot of hip-hop fans, and we now have the final tally.
Billboard just revealed the official standings for their 200 albums chart, and both projects landed in the top ten. JACKBOYS 2 debuted at No. 1 with 232K album-equivalent units sold, according to Luminate. Let God Sort Em Out cinched a No. 4 debut after selling 118K album-equivalent units in its first week.
For the Travis Scott-fronted LP, 160K of its units specifically represent album sales, with 72K coming from 94.86 million on-demand official streams on digital streaming platforms. The Thornton brothers’ latest sold 59K units via 77.49 million streams and 58K in album sales.
Other Billboard debuts this week include the new Justin Bieber album SWAG, THIS IS FOR by TWICE, and BELOVED by GIVĒON. It was a big week for new releases, and all these artists should be proud of their work.
Why Did Pusha T Diss Travis Scott?
However, there is some big context here that makes the JACKBOYS 2 and Let God Sort Em Out comparison much more interesting. Not only are the musical styles and appeals very different, but the artists themselves don’t exactly get along.
Travis Scott and Pusha T’s beef began when the latter dissed the former on the Clipse single “So Be It.” Many interviews and other statements elaborated on the feud, which stems from Travis’ Drake collaborations despite being close with Pharrell.
It didn’t take long at all for La Flame to clap back. He dissed the Virginia MC on the opener of his new album, and we’ll see if anything in the future furthers this rift.
These Clipse and JACKBOYS comparisons are irrelevant at the end of the day, though. All that should matter is what you like and why. But with so many combative conversations going on around hip-hop these days, at least competition is stiff. If it was all just beef and clout back and forth, we’d tune out.