Playboi Carti’s new album Music has debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, marking the biggest rap debut of 2025 so far. Released on March 14, the album earned 298,000 equivalent album units in its first week, according to Billboard. The majority of these units came from streaming, with 384 million on-demand streams accounting for 283,000 units. The remaining 15,000 came from pure album sales and track equivalent album units.
Music now holds the second-largest first-week total for any album this year, behind The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, which opened with 490,000 units. It also marks the biggest streaming week since Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was released in May 2024. For Carti, Music represents both the highest first-week sales of his career and his second chart-topping album, following 2020’s Whole Lotta Red.
Despite the strong debut, Carti expressed dissatisfaction with the reported numbers. After Akademiks posted Billboard’s tally of 298,000 units on X, Carti responded with a one-word correction: “320,” suggesting he believed his actual total should have been higher.
Prior to the chart’s release, projections estimated that Music would move around 250,000 units in its first week. However, some fans and Carti himself raised concerns about how sales were being counted—specifically, the exclusion of physical sales. Carti responded to the projections by posting “IT IS ODD” on X.
Billboard later clarified that only digital downloads were available at the time of release, and that CD versions of the album would be issued in the coming weeks. Additional deluxe box sets and merchandise bundles are expected, which could extend the album’s chart performance.
Industry forecasts suggest Music may earn another 120,000 to 140,000 units in its second week, putting it in a position to remain at number one on the Billboard 200.
