SZA’s ‘SOS’ Claims Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart Since 1990

Trevor Anderson
·3 min read
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Sure, SZA’s album is the one called SOS, but it’s everyone else’s projects that need help.

The singer-songwriter’s titan returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (dated July 29) to capture a 21st week at the summit. With its latest chart-topping frame, SOS sails into further historic territory, breaking from a tie with Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon as the chart’s longest-leading No. 1 of the 21st century thus far, and the album with the most weeks atop the list since 1990.

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SOS rebounds from No. 2 through 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 20, according to Luminate, down 1% from the prior week. The set had weathered the arrival of several heavyweight albums – Lil Durk’s Almost Healed, the Metro Boomin-helmed Metro Boomin Presents: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack, Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse, Young Thug’s Business Is Business and Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape – in the seven weeks since it last ruled.

As SOS collects a 21st leading frame, it breaks from a tie with Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon for the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since M.C. Hammer locked up 29 weeks at the top with Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em in 1990. In addition to passing Pop Smoke’s posthumous LP and its 20-week run at No. 1, SOS also climbs above two other 20-week champs – Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life and Rick James’ Street Songs – for sole possession of fifth place on the overall leaderboard.

Here’s a look at the albums with the most weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums since the list began in 1965:

Weeks at No. 1, Album, Artist, Date First Reached No. 1

  • 37, Thriller, Michael Jackson, Jan. 29, 1983

  • 29, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, M.C. Hammer, April 28, 1990

  • 26, Just Like the First Time, Freddie Jackson, Dec. 6, 1986

  • 23, Can’t Slow Down, Lionel Richie, Nov. 26, 1983

  • 21, SOS, SZA, Dec. 24, 2022

  • 20, Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder, Oct. 16, 1976

  • 20, Street Songs, Rick James, June 6, 1981

  • 20, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, Pop Smoke, July 18, 2020

  • 19, Purple Rain, Prince and The Revolution, July 28, 1984

Plus, SOS extends its record for the longest-running No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums by a female artist, adding another frame between it and the second-place title, Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now, which ruled for 17 weeks in 1968.

SOS traces its historic feats both to feverish anticipation in the project’s lead-up and executing a consistent string of hits before and after its arrival. The album, released in December 2022, came five years after SZA’s Ctrl, which arrived in June 2017 to critical acclaim and industry praise, including five Grammy nominations, and commercial success, having remained on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart every week since its release.

Three pre-release singles also found strong reception on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, “Good Days” (No. 3), “I Hate U” (No. 1) and “Shirt” (No. 4), with the foremost pair also reaching the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Upon the album’s arrival, instant fan-favorite “Kill Bill” exploded into the biggest hit of SZA’s career, topping both the Hot 100 and setting a new record – 21 weeks – at No. 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Seven months after its release, the album is still spinning off hits: Current single “Snooze” hits No. 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week and is just outside the Hot 100’s top tier, sitting at No. 12.

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