Kendrick Lamar Remains At No. 1, Action Bronson’s First-Week Sales Revealed

Top Dawg Entertainment rapper Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly album remained atop the sales chart this week selling over 120,000 copies.

According to reports, the LP sold 123,000 copies in week two.

To Pimp a Butterfly — which was released through Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope Records — moved 123,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 29, according to Nielsen Music (down 66 percent). Rapper Action Bronson launches at No. 7 with his first full-length album for a major label, Mr. Wonderful. The Vice/Atlantic Records set bows with 49,000 units in its first week, and follows his No. 63-peaking EP Saaab Stories Produced by Harry Fraud in 2013. (Billboard)

Check out initial weekend estimates on the next page…

Lamar’s album was projected to topple its competition based on last weekend sales estimates.

Kendrick Lamar will repeat at #1 on both our charts next week. Here’s how it looks headed into the weekend.

Kendrick Lamar (TDE/Aftermath/Interscope) 110-120k Albums / 135-145k SPS
Empire (Twentieth Century Fox/Columbia) 50-55k Albums / 70-75k SPS
*Kidz Bop Kids (Razor & Tie) 35-40k Albums / 40-45k SPS
*Action Bronson (Atlantic) 35-40k Albums / 40-45k SPS
*Earl Sweatshirt (Columbia) 28-32k Albums / 30-35k SPS (HITS Daily Double)

Recently, Lamar revealed late music icon Tupac Shakur inspired the project’s initial title.

“That was the original name and they caught it because the abbreviation was Tupac, Tu-P-A-C,” Lamar said after revealing the project’s original title was “Tu Pimp A Caterpillar.” “Me changing it to Butterfly, I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word pimp has so much aggression and that represents several things. For me, it represents using my celebrity for good. Another reason is, not being pimped by the industry through my celebrity.” (MTV)

Recent reports claimed K. Dot stood alone for having the first album to topple its competition with “pimp” in its title.

According to Billboard, Kendrick’s latest set is the first album with “pimp” in its title to be No. 1 on the charts. Previously, the highest charting album was Pimp C’s Pimpalation, which landed at No. 3 in 2006. Other albums with “pimp” in its name worth mentioning are Too $hort‘s Shorty the Pimp (No. 6 in 1992), JT Money‘s Pimpin On Wax (No. 28 in 1999) and Dirty’s Keep It Pimp & Gangsta (No. 63 in 2003). (Complex)