Rod Wave Lands Third No. 1 Album in 3 Years; SZA Returns to Top Songs Chart With Drake’s ‘Slime You Out’

Florida-born trap-soul rapper Rod Wave has scored his third No. 1 album in a row with his latest, fifth studio LP “Nostalgia.” His entrance pushes Olivia Rodrigo’s newly-released “Guts” out of the summit by a couple thousand units sold.

Despite being described an underdog of the hip-hop field, Rod previously earned a No. 1 debut with his full-lengths “SoulFly” in 2021, and “Beautiful Mind” in 2022. The 25-year-old has also consistently released a project each year since 2019 although “Nostalgia” sees Rod at his most introspective, touching on themes of love and loss across 18 tracks. The set also includes a feature from 21 Savage on the track “Turks & Caicos.”

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“Nostalgia” logged the equivalent of 137,000 album units sold, per Luminate. A large portion of that sum derives from its impact on streaming, approximately 187 million streams, marking Rod’s largest opening week yet by units earned. As Billboard notes, its the third-largest debut streaming week for an R&B/hip-hop album in 2023.

Rodrigo’s “Guts” slips to No. 2 in its second week with 134,000 units as Zach Bryan’s self-titled album remains at No. 3 with 79,000 units. Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” is at No. 4; SZA’s “SOS” is at No. 5; Travis Scott’s “Utopia” is No. 6 and Peso Pluma’s “Génesis” is at No. 7.

Swift’s chart-topping “Midnights” sits still at No. 8 and Wallen returns for a second time in the top 10 with his former No. 1 “Dangerous: The Double Album” at No. 9. The “Barbie” soundtrack rounds out the top of the list at No. 10.

On the Hot 100, SZA appears twice in the new top three: at No. 1 with Drake for “Slime You Out” (32.6 million streams), and at No. 3 for her own single “Snooze,” boosted by a new remix with Justin Bieber.

“Slime You Out” is off of Drake’s upcoming album “For All the Dogs,” now slated for an Oct. 6 release afetr Drake delayed the set to focus on completing his tour. It’s SZA’s second-ever No. 1 song behind her “SOS” single “Kill Bill,” which led the list back in April. “Snooze” enters the list with 21.4 million streams with all versions of “Snooze” accounting for its new chart positon.

R&B and hip-hop-leaning singles occupy the top three, as Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” keeps its grip on No. 2 with just shy of 45 million in radio reach and 27 million streams, two weeks after the single climbed to No. 1 on the songs chart. The single preceded Doja Cat’s “Scarlet” album, which arrived on Sept. 22 and is expected to impact the top of the Billboard 200 in the coming week.

The rest of the Hot 100 is occupied by repeats with country hitmaker Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” at No. 4, and Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, at No. 5. Swift’s “Cruel Summer” is at No. 6; Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” slips to No. 7; Wallen’s “Last Night” slips is at No. 8 and Gunna’s “Fukumean” is steady at No. 9. Closing out the top 10 singles is Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” in its 17th week on the chart.

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