Kanye West now enjoying a resurgence on the Billboard 200 chart as his old albums seeing massive sales increases.
Two of Kanye West’s earliest works, The College Dropout and Late Registration, have jumped back into contention on the Billboard 200 chart. The albums have made some major moves as according to the latest chart update, today, March 1, Kanye’s 2004 debut album The College Dropout has climbed from No. 109 to No. 36 on the Billboard 200.
That represents the album’s highest jump in 17 years. His sophomore album Late Registration, which was released in 2005, also re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 185. This is the album’s first appearance on the chart in over five years, according to Chart Data.
Both albums have more than likely enjoyed the resurgence due to the release of the first two episodes of Kanye West’s Netflix documentary Jeen-Yuhs. Much of the documentary focuses on Ye’s early career and the making of The College Dropout and is the most plausible explanation for the rise in the charts.
Kanye West decision to release Donda 2 on his $200 Stem Player may also be another reason why fans have chosen to revisit his earlier and more available work. The College Dropout was the album that proved Kanye had a lot to share and had immense talent. When it debuted in February 2004, it came in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
At that time, it sold about 441,000 copies in its first week. Late Registration confirmed that he was here to stay as when that dropped in August 2005, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with around 860,000 copies sold in its first week.
His debut album is enjoying one of the biggest sales weeks in a while, moving approximately 20,000 units in the last seven days, even out-performing his most recent album. It is also expected to end up at No. 15 on next week’s Billboard album charts.
It’s also competing with The Weeknd’s Dawn FM, Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), and Lil Baby’s My Turn, which are all pretty much on level terms this week.
.@kanyewest's 'The College Dropout' rises 109-36 on this week's #Billboard200.
It marks the album's highest ranking on the chart since March 2005.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 1, 2022
.@kanyewest's 'Late Registration' re-enters this week's #Billboard200 chart at No. 184.
— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 1, 2022
Listen the album below.
