Nearly 13 years. Six top-10 albums. Zero No. 1s. Until now. Jhene Aiko’s Westside Whimsy just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the first chart-topping album of her career.
The album moved 74,000 equivalent units in its first week, and streaming did almost all the heavy lifting: 71.33 million on-demand streams, plus a No. 1 debut on the Top Streaming Albums chart. It is also the first R&B album by a woman to top the Billboard 200 this year.
The rollout, or lack of one, is part of the story. She announced the album on September 8 and dropped it on September 11. Twenty tracks, with Kendrick Lamar reuniting with her on the lead single “So Good” (which topped Spotify’s Top Song Debut chart in the U.S.), plus Ab-Soul, Tyga, Larry June, and OHMA.
Her last album, 2020’s Chilombo, peaked at No. 2 and earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year, so this one has been a long time coming. Sail Out debuted at No. 8 back in 2013. Souled Out hit No. 3. Trip hit No. 5. Patience pays.