The First Week Projections for J. Cole and Nicki Minaj Are In

This week was absolutely massive for hip-hop, thanks to two iconic artists who blessed the weekend with new tunes.

On Friday, the legends finally returned with highly-anticipated new music and fondly appreciated nostalgia. J. Cole came armed with some of his most skilled bars on The Off-Season, and Nicki Minaj reunited YMCMB for a special re-release of her 2009 stand-out mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty. Cole’s album rollout was particularly spectacular, as he announced a week prior to The Off-Season’s arrival that he was set to play professional basketball for the Rwanda Patriots.

It appears the stellar rollout and overall hype surrounding The Off-Season paid off in Cole’s favor, as Hits Daily Double reports that the album is expected to gross between 280 and 310k in its first week. If the numbers inch closer to 310k, that means that Cole will hold the title of the biggest debut of 2021, outpacing Taylor Swift’s Fearless which currently holds the spot with 290k. With some well-placed features from 21 Savage, Lil Baby, Cam’ron, and Lil Jon, the project opened up to rave reviews over the weekend, with fans taking particular notice of Cole’s commentary on his 2013 altercation with Diddy.  

While Cole will likely snag the number one spot, it’s looking like it’s going to be a big week for Nicki Minaj as well. The MC’s re-release is set to sell anywhere between 65 and 75k, which is impressive for a project that only sports a handful of new tracks. While Beam Me Up Scotty doesn’t appear to challenge the number one spot, these are big numbers nonetheless.