First week projections for DMX’s posthumous album Exodus are in and the late rapper is expected to land in a top five spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
According to Hits Daily Double, Exodus is on pace to move between 28,000 to 32,000 total album-equivalent units, with 12,000 to 14,000 of those coming from pure album sales. The figures are far behind pop star Taylor Swift’s evermore, and Olivia Rodrgio’s rock album Geffen. X’s projection is similar to Juice WRLD’s Goodbye & Good Riddance — Anniversary Edition, which is also slated to move between 28,000 to 32,000 total album-equivalent units.
The projections are a bit surprising since DMX’s music sales and album streams skyrocketed by over 1,000 percent after he died on April 9. His 1998 hit single “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” hit No. 1 on U.S. iTunes chart.
On May 10, an image of the album art surfaced on DMX and Swizz Beatz’ Instagram. The album was released 18 days later on May 28 with songs from The LOX, Griselda, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Bono, Usher, Alicia Keys JAY-Z, Nas and others.
During a virtual listening party for The Dog via Zoom, HipHopDX reported, Swizz said “This project meant a lot to him. It was something he showed up to do and couldn’t wait for people to hear. It was a project he wanted the world to hear. We didn’t want to wait too long because he didn’t want to wait too long. The album’s name is Exodus, which he has across his neck and is on the album cover. It’s also his youngest son’s name.”
“He was just in a good vibe. He was just in a good energy. I can’t lie. When he left us, I was pretty shocked because he was just ready to go to the next level,” Swizz continued. “We started the album cycle and then we was going to start the physical fitness side of it. We was about to go to the gym. We was about to be on a different type of the schedule for the whole month and he was in a good space. All of a sudden, that news happened and it just changed all the plans.” If projections are correct, Exodus will be DMX’s sixth album to land in the top 5 on Billboard’s chart.