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Polo G's 'GOAT' Posts Career High: 'I'm Elevating as an Artist'

Polo G earns his second top five album on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as The GOAT debuts at No. 2. The set earned 99,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 21, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

The 21-year-old rapper, born Taurus Bartlett, repeats the entry position of his previous release, Die a Legend, released last June. Coincidentally, Polo G traces both near-misses from the chart summit to the same artist: Future. Legend was blocked from No. 1 last June due to the simultaneous debut of the Atlanta’s rapper Save Me EP. This week, Future again prevents Polo G’s first leader as his High Off Life arrives in the top slot.

If the déjà vu continues, however, Polo G may come out on top. After the No. 2 debut, Legend outlasted Future’s EP in the project’s second weeks and moved to No. 1 on Top Rap Albums, while Save Me tumbled 1-18.

Back to the present: Of GOAT’s 99,000-unit start, 85,000 of the figure derives from streaming, equaling 129.4 million streams of the project’s songs during the tracking week. The near-six figure mark is easily Polo G’s best week for an album, crushing Legend‘s opening of 38,000 units.

“I definitely care about the growth because that shows how much I’m elevating as an artist,” the rapper tells Billboard. “That’s just getting me into even more discussions and topics of who’s one of the top rappers out now and the most improved player, I guess.”

As with most hip-hop releases, a streaming surge causes several of the album’s tracks to debut on corresponding songs charts. Eight GOAT cuts enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, led by a No. 14 start for “Flex,” featuring Juice WRLD.

To recap the eight new arrivals:

No. 14, “Flex,” featuring Juice WRLD
No. 23, “Be Something,” featuring Lil Baby
No. 26, “Martin & Gina”
No. 27, “21”
No. 44, “Don’t Believe The Hype”
No. 47, “Beautiful Pain (Losin My Mind)”
No. 48, “33”
No. 50, “I Know”

In addition to the fresh starts, the set’s previously released single, “Go Stupid,” featuring NLE Choppa and Stunna 4 Vegas, re-enters at No. 30, one spot below its peak position.

Activity surrounding Polo G’s GOAT album and its songs prompt the rapper’s No. 2 re-entry on the Billboard Artist 100. The return easily surpasses his previous personal best, a No. 57 showing from September 2019.