Kanye West’s ye merch, which released online shortly after his star-studded listening party in Wyoming concluded, sold half a million dollars, $500k USD, in just 30 minutes. In the below clip, where Kanye is being interviewed by LA’s Power 106 radio station, longtime collaborator Scooter Braun interrupts the conversation to inform the musician of his early sales figures, leaving the soon-to-be 41-year-old joyfully stunned. Additionally, if you check out the entire interview (also below), West reveals he redid the entire album after his controversial visit to TMZ. When asked about last minute edits, Ye responded “I redid the whole album after TMZ.” He then clarifies why: ”Just energy. I was sitting in Calabasas, working on my sweatpants and shoes, and everything was going perfectly. And as soon as [it] stopped going so perfectly, I was like ‘I know what to do with this energy.’” The ye-supporting merch, which currently includes hoodies and long-sleeve T-shirts, is still available at shop.kanyewest.com. G.O.O.D. Music’s cruel summer is far from over however as Kanye just teased the tracklist to his collaborative album with Kid Cudi, set to release June 8.<doc-sep>Let’s review some of the notable statistics associated with Ye’s No. 1 arrival: Kanye West’s Eighth No. 1 Album: West lands his eighth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Ye. He ties Eminem for the second-most No. 1 albums among hip-hop acts in the history of the chart. Only JAY-Z is ahead of them, as he owns 14 chart-toppers. (Among all acts, The Beatles have the most No. 1s, with 19.) Record-Tying Eight No. 1s in a Row: West has earned all eight of his No. 1s consecutively. Every single one of West’s chart entries, except for his first album, 2004's The College Dropout, have debuted at No. 1. (The College Dropout debuted and peaked at No. 2.) He matches Eminem (2000-2018, a still-active streak) and The Beatles (1965-68) as the only acts to tally eight straight No. 1 albums. Eminem also matches West in terms of eight consecutive No. 1 debuts. (The Beatles’ stretch of eight No. 1s in a row in the '60s did not include any titles that debuted at No. 1.) Fifth-Biggest Week of 2018: As Ye starts with 208,000 equivalent album units, it logs the fifth-biggest week for an album this year. The only larger frames were earned by the debut weeks of Post Malone’s beerbongs & bentleys (461,000), J. Cole’s KOD (397,000), Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods (293,000) and Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy (255,000 units). Seventh-Largest Streaming Debut Week Ever: Of Ye’s first week units, 120,000 were SEA units. That sum equates to 180.1 million on-demand audio streams for the set’s seven songs during the tracking week (as each SEA units equals 1,500 on-demand audio streams). Ye’s streaming launch is the seventh-biggest debut streaming week for an album. That’s a pretty notable feat, considering Ye only has seven songs. Thus, each tune, on average, garnered 25.7 million on-demand audio streams. The only album to tally a larger per-track streaming average was J. Cole’s KOD earlier this year. During its opening frame, the 12-song album earned 322.7 million on-demand audio streams, resulting in a 26.9 million per-track average. At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Post Malone’s former No. 1, beerbongs & bentleys, is a non-mover with 99,000 units (down 5 percent). Coming in at No. 3 is rock band Ghost with its highest-charting album, and third top 10, Prequelle. The set launches with 66,000 units, of which 61,000 were in traditional album sales — the act’s best sales week ever. (The album’s first week benefits from a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer in association with the band’s spring U.S. theater tour, as well as a pair of arena dates later this year.)<doc-sep>"Yikes" leads the way at No. 8, earning the MC his 16th top 10. As Kanye West celebrates his eighth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated June 16), as Ye opens with 205,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, all seven tracks from the set debut in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. "Yikes" debuts the highest on the Hot 100, at No. 8, earning West his 16th top 10 hit and tying him with Nicki Minaj for the sixth-most top 10s among rappers. Drake holds the record with 26, followed by JAY-Z (21), Lil Wayne (20), Ludacris (18) and Eminem (17). (Madonna leads all acts with 38 top 10s.)<doc-sep>
It's safe to say that the anticipation for Kanye West's latest album, Ye, was extremely high. Everyone was wondering whether Kanye's new behavior would be reflected in the music, or if it was all a big joke on the world. Regardless, everyone wanted some answers, and therefore everyone tuned in to listen to the new project to try and find them. While some people didn't get what they were expecting from the project, in terms of album sales, it's still a massive success. As reported by Billboard, Kanye sold 208,000 album equivalent sales of Ye in the first week, easily placing him at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and the fifth largest album debut this year. The placement of Ye at the top of the charts comes with it a few accomplishments for Kanye. First of which, is that this album is his eight consecutive album to hit number one on the charts. Not only does this tie him with Eminem and The Beatles for the same feat, it also reflects very well on his legacy, and how he's managed to stay influential all these years. He also ties with Eminem for the second highest amount of number 1 hip-hop albums in general, beaten only by Jay Z who had 14 to his name. Go listen to Ye if you're one of the few people that has managed to avoid checking it out, or if you don't want to do that, maybe read our review of the album instead.