NAGOYA, JAPAN – DECEMBER 04: (from left) V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM,Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attend … [+]
Getty Images
As fans wait patiently (or not so patiently) for BTS to release their new album BE, which is slated to drop on Friday, November 20, the group gave their ARMY of followers something else to enjoy in the meantime. Just a short time ago, the septet re-released their 2014 EP Skool Luv Affair, which was unveiled long before the band was as globally famous as they are now. At the time, it didn’t make much of a commercial impact on the Billboard charts, but now it has helped the group accomplish something they’ve never managed before in their time together.
Skool Luv Affair debuts on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart this week, giving the septet their first placement on the genre-specific tally. Incredibly, despite the fact that at least some of their songs (and even full collections) could reasonably be considered either hip-hop or rap, the band has never appeared on any of the chart company’s lists that focus solely on full-lengths that fit under those labels.
This week, Skool Luv Affair launches at No. 7 on the latest edition of the Top Rap Albums chart, coming in right behind YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Top and Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding, two of the most successful rap records in recent memory. Impressively, the South Korean boy band sees their set open higher than new releases from the likes of T.I. and Gucci Mane.
It remains incredibly uncommon for any artist who performs primarily in a language other than English to reach Billboard’s rap and hip-hop charts, especially the albums-focused tallies. BTS isn’t alone in this feat, but they are one of only a few acts from outside the Western hemisphere who have done so.
Skool Luv Affair was re-released not long ago, and all the fans who rushed to buy the previously limited effort helped the title become a semi-surprise success on a number of Billboard charts. In addition to appearing on the Top Rap Albums ranking for the first time, the item also debuts on the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales chart, and it finds its way back to the World Albums list as well.
MORE FOR YOU
