Before 2020 took a plummeting nosedive into chaos and tragedy, it seemed to be kicking off on a high note -- at least within the rap game, as Eminem came through with the surprise album Music To Be Murdered By. Viewed by many as a triumphant victory lap for the legendary emcee, Em's Hitchcock-inspired project proved doubly exciting thanks to a musical reunion with his longtime friend and mentor Dr. Dre. Boasting tracks like "Darkness," "Godzilla," "Marsh," and the Anderson .Paak assisted "Lock It Up," Em's tenth studio album provided something for everybody.

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It's no wonder the album has gone on to become a fan-favorite, and while Em has always been a commercial juggernaut, it's insane to see the numbers he's still running after twenty-years deep. According to the findings of Chartdata, Music To Be Murdered By has officially surpassed over a billion streams on Spotify. Given that's only one of the digital streaming platforms, the statistics are all the more impressive; expect platinum plaque certifications to follow, further decoration for Em's already stacked wall.  

Given that the current cultural climate is rightfully somber, it's difficult to imagine that Em will be releasing any further singles from Music To Be Murdered By anytime soon. Still, many fans have been circling back to a Revival track, "Untouchable," which covers themes of police brutality and systemic racism. Clearly, the people still hold Em's word in high regard, to the point where he remains one of hip-hop's biggest draws. Have you been keeping his latest album on steady rotation?

As folks across the nation and around the world take to the streets to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, it appears many are revisiting some classic protest anthems, including the aptly titled “F*ck Da Police” by N.W.A. According to Rolling Stone‘s data analytics provider, Alpha Data, the gangsta rap group’s hit off their 1988 debut album, Straight Outta Compton, has seen a 272% percent increase in on-demand audio streams between May 27th and June 1st, in comparison to the five-day period prior to George Floyd’s death on May 25th.

In particular, streams for “F*ck Da Police” increased exponentially on Sunday (May 31st) and Monday (June 1st), with a total of 765,000 on-demand audio streams over those two days. These numbers are nearly five times more than the amount of streams recorded on the previous Sunday and Monday.

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A few other hip hop songs that feel especially relevant in this crucial moment have also seen a surge in streams. As we reported, Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly, recently reentered the Apple Music Charts, and one of the most politically driven songs off the album, “Alright,” has alone seen a 71% increase in overall streams. Childish Gambino‘s “This Is America” has also jumped in streams, in large part due to its recent TikTok virality in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. “This Is America” has leaped 149% in streams, along with Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” (89%), D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s “The Charade” (122%), Killer Mike’s “Don’t Die” (542%) and Beyoncé’s “Freedom” (70%).

Gunna‘s new album, Wunna, is reportedly likely to debut at No. 1 on next week’s Billboard 200 chart, according to HITS Daily Double. This would be Gunna’s first project to debut this high.

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Wunna is projected to reach between 110,000 to 130,000 equivalent album units. The full-length project features Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Young Thug, and Roddy Ricch as collaborators.

The ranking is no surprise to the rapper, who expected the project would land as high, in an interview with Complex before its release. “Album going No. 1, of course, and I’m going to have a few hits on here—a few, few,” he said. “This album right is going to set a tone.”

Gunna’s previous effort, 2019’s Drip Or Drown 2, debuted at No. 2 with 90,000 equivalent album units.

“Wunna is the other side of me that I don’t really be showing,” Gunna told High Snobiety regarding Wunna. “I want people to know that I really took my time and I really put heart into this album. I made more than an album, I made a series with it. Even with the cover, the videos, with the merch and everything, it goes together. I want people to understand that I’m a real artist.”

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Tekashi 6ix9ine has been a polarizing figure in the music industry ever since he came out with his track "GUMMO" in 2017. Ever since he was arrested, thrown in jail, and subsequently released for snitching, people's feelings towards 6ix9ine have become even more divided. Some people don't care that he's a snitch while others are outraged that he still has a career and can still get coverage. Either way, he's a prominent figure right now and his new song "GOOBA" appears to be a huge hit amongst his closest supporters.

According to Chart Data on Twitter, 6ix9ine's catalog has taken a huge boost thanks to his new track. In fact, his 2018 album "DUMMY BOY" recently passed two billion streams on Spotify's platform. Clearly, fans are in the mood for 6ix9ine's music and he's reaping the benefits of it all.

Babyface and Teddy Riley's "Verzuz" battle Instagram live on Monday (April 20th) managed to turn into a big success after several delays, and even led both artists to experiencing a major surge in streams afterward. The legendary producers finally had the chance to face-off over IG live on Monday after multiple postponements had begun putting a damper on the whole affair. It was all worth the trouble, though, especially considering how much traffic the battle brought to both Babyface and Teddy's streaming numbers.

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According to Nielsen Music/MRC Data reports, all 49 tracks used in the battle combined garnered 3 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. the day after the live event took place (April 21st). This is a massive increase from day prior, which only recorded 1.4 million cumulative streams, meaning Face and Teddy's collective numbers saw a 115% surge within the span of one day.

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The battle track that garnered the most streams on the 21st was the Babyface-produced "Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell, with 232,000 on-demand audio streams, a 110% increase from the 110,000 streams the day before. During the battle, Tevin tweeted that "'Can We Talk' is a song about stalking but it works every time," which may have had something to do with the increased interest in streaming the song.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has been released from prison but everyone's wondered what his next musical move is. Apparently, he has two new albums in the works -- a hip-hop project and a Spanish-language album. The thing is, 6ix9ine didn't even leave us with an even mediocre album around the time of his arrest. DUMMY BOY was arguably a critical dud, though the numbers proved it was a commercial success.

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According to ChartData, it appears that DUMMY BOY has been seeing a surge in sales since his release. They said that the project has seen a 25% increase in sales in the full week following his release from prison. Clearly, there are a few individuals out there who are excited that he's out of prison but the question remains -- will the momentum sustain?

6ix9ine has been slowly creeping his way back into the public eye. The rapper has slid in the comments of a few Instagram posts to crack jokes about being an informant. Last night, he slid onto Tory Lanez's Quarantine Radio where he threatened to snitch on the Canadian rapper if he doesn't allow him to preview new music. "Lemme play this new shit or ima snitch on u. You not even from America u from Canada," 6ix9ine wrote. Though Tory previously faced backlash for saying he missed the guy, Tory quickly played it off by screaming "guidelines, guidelines, guidelines."

A few days ago, The Weeknd took to Instagram to flaunt some truly gargantuan Spotify streaming numbers, with the same mischievous pride reserved for kittens leaving bird carcasses on the stoop. Truly on his Dr. Evil, Weeknd had cause for celebration thanks to one billion streams on the digital streaming platform, the road to a platinum plaque all but cleared off traffic. Throw in some glowing critical acclaim and we’re looking at a massive opening week for his brand new album After Hours. 

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In fact, it’s one of the year’s best so far, beating out competition from Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Lil Uzi Vert. A report from Billboard cites Weeknd’s first week numbers looking like a total of up to 425,000 album-equivalent units, which would ultimately make After Hours the biggest release of his career. An impressive feat, and a testament to his enduring place in the modern musical landscape. Look for the final round-up to be unveiled on Billboard this Sunday, but don’t be surprised to see Weeknd sitting pretty come the release of the April 4th charts. 

This tally puts The Weeknd at the top of the pile, beating out both Lil Uzi Vert‘s Eternal Atake (288,000) and Eminem’s surprise album Music To Be Murdered By (282,000). A grand look for the Canadian singer, who continues to prove that artistry and originality can and will make it to the top. Have you been keeping that After Hours on rotation?

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Pop Smoke’s discography is seeing a spike in streaming, rising from 5 million streams to 24.7 million streams after it was announced that the rapper was tragically killed in a fatal shooting in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday. According to Billboard, tons of fans rushed to streaming services to play his music on the day of his death, resulting in a 392 percent increase in streaming numbers, per Nielsen Music/MRC Data. 

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Pop Smoke’s catalogue as a whole garnered 24.7 million streams on February 19th following his death, almost five times as many as the 5 million streams the day prior. “Dior” off Pop’s 2019 debut mixtape, Meet The Woo, has raked in the most streams since we lost the young artist, rising from 909,000 listens on February 18th to 5.2 million on the 19th—a whopping 467 percent increase. However, while “Dior” may have the most listens, “Better Have Your Gun” saw the greatest increase in streams. The song was at 202,000 streams on February 19th, having experienced a 783 percent jump. The late artist also experienced a 984 percent increase in digital downloads of his songs, sitting at 3,000 downloads in total, 1,000 of which were “Dior.” Most strikingly, Pop’s music saw a 12,179 percent jump in album sales between Wednesday and Thursday, 3,000 of the 4,000 of which were his new album, Meet the Woo 2.

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Pop Smoke’s murder took place in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday as a result of what was initially believed to be a home invasion robbery. It has since been reported that surveillance footage from the Hollywood Hills home had led authorities to believe that the shooting was in fact a targeted hit, rather than part of an intended robbery. While the police investigate Pop Smoke’s murder, which may have had ties to gang relations, the rest of the world continues to mourn the loss of a young talent gone too soon. RIP Pop Smoke.

It's been interesting to keep track of all the drama pertaining to charting positions in the last two weeks. At first, things were heating up on the Billboard Hot 100. Roddy Ricch hit the top spot for the first time in his life, winning big with "The Box." His race to the crown involved a battle against one of the biggest pop stars in the world in Justin Bieber, who attempted to utilize the strength of his fanbase, instructing everybody on how to cheat the system and run up his streams. Roddy Ricch came out on top. Now, the same thing is happening on the Billboard 200 album listing with Selena Gomez trying her hardest to dethrone the Compton rapper at the pole position. She uploaded a desperate video, addressing her audience and practically begging them to give her some big numbers this week, making herself out to be a clown in the same clip by saying she doesn't care about where her album lands. She was rightfully torn apart by Joe Budden on his recent podcast episode.

This French Montana-50 Cent beef doesn't seem to have an end in sight, but both parties are upping the ante as the days roll on. Fif has been trolling Montana ever since the "No Stylist" rapper shared that he'd recently purchased a 2008 Bugatti. The luxury whip reportedly set him back almost two million dollars, but 50 Cent didn't understand why Montana was so excited about flexing a 12-year-old car.

We've all bore witness to the back and forths that have ensued over the last few days, and on Friday, Fif turned up his troll-o-meter. Gossip began to circulate that French Montana somehow hacked into Spotify accounts to increase his streaming numbers, and 50 Cent didn't waste any time going after the rapper. "Boy you better start explaining ?RIGHT NOW!!!," he wrote, also sharing a photo that shows Montana's support of R. Kelly's legacy.

Montana clapped back with a video saying that he would make a diss record against Fif if he thought 50 Cent was hot right now, but because he's "Christmas in Alaska," he won't. Then, Montana took some verbal shots at Fif's teeth, called him an "unwavy creature," told him to stop buying his streams, and then dropped the bomb. 

"Aye, 5-0, I got another thing for you, too," Montana said. "I got that girl that ate your booty hole when you was writing that Power script for five hours. There's a video coming right after this. Stay tuned." A few days ago, the infamous groupie Celina Powell uploaded a video to her YouTube where she shared a story of her sexual encounter with 50 Cent. She also claims that she "ATE THE RAPPER 50 CENTS... WITH PROOF" and included a video with herself on FaceTime with the Power executive. It's unclear if that's who French Montana is referring to, but we're sure he'll let us know sooner than later. Check it all out below.

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59 HOW YOU STOOP THAT LOW DINOSAUR ..YOU BUY FAKE STREAMS ON MY SONG AND TRY TO USE THAT AGAINST ME. WOW. YOU THAT DESPERATE. I SHOWED PAPER WORK FOR 2MIL NOW YOU GOT NOTHING ON ME, BUT TO STOOP THAT LOW. BULLY DAYS ARE OVER WITH ? YOU SHOULD USE THAT MONEY FOR YOUR RAP SHOWS DINOSAUR ? !! YOU CAN ONLY PERFORM IN SOUTH KOREA ? ITS OK TO TAKE AN “L” AND IM LOOKING FOR YOUR DENTIST YOU DESERVE A FULL REFUND ? 59 AN EVIL DONKEY

A post shared by French Montana (@frenchmontana) on Jan 3, 2020 at 9:19pm PST