Kanye West's new experimental album Yeezus going gold may seem like good news on the surface, but when talking about a man with such high expectations, the fact that it just went gold now is a bit disappointing.
June 18 was a big day for hip hop as Kanye and J.Cole were competing to see who could sell more. Kanye won the first week sales, but fell way off shortly after that.
Kanye's first week sales were north of 325 thousand copies reports Vibe, while Cole was just below 300 thousand. These numbers were good enough for the number one chart position.
Cole had the last laugh though as he took over the number one spot one week later, as Yeezus took a free fall down the charts. Complex Music reports that Kanye's album marks the fourth largest second week sales decline for a number one debuting album in SoundScan history.
Kanye won the first week battle with J.Cole, but Cole's Born Sinner ended up winning the war. Born Sinner was certified gold (selling more than 500 thousand copies) about one month before Kanye was able to reach that feat.
Even though it took a while, Yeezus going gold is a nice accomplishment for Kanye. In today's world, album sales are way down, and going gold is far from a certainty, especially when you consider that Yeezy drifted far away from his usual sound. Congrats to Kanye.
Watch the video to Kanye's official single off Yeezus, "Black Skinhead," below. West will perform this song at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25th.