This week on Scoreboard LCD Soundsystem has the #1 album in America and we spotlight emerging rapper XXXTentaction
Billboard Artist Top 10
For the magazine dated September 23, 2016
See the full chart at http://www.billboard.com/charts/artist-100
| Billboard Artist Top 10 | Name | Billboard 200 Album Rank | Billboard Hot 100 Singles | Highest Charting Single |
| 1 | Taylor Swift | 40 | 2 | 1:Look What You Made Me Do |
| 2 | LCD Soundsystem | 1 | – | |
| 3 | Imagine Dragons | 6 | 2 | 8: Believer |
| 4 | Lil Uzi Vert | 2 | 6 | 19: XO Tour Llif3 |
| 5 | Ed Sheeran | 10 | 1 | 16: Shape Of You |
| 6 | Bruno Mars | 16 | 2 | 17: That’s What I Like |
| 7 | Kendrick Lamar | 4 | 2 | 21: Humble |
| 8 | Shawn Mendes | 29 | 1 | 10: There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back |
| 9 | XXXTentaction | 3 | 5 | 38: Jocelyn Flores |
| 10 | Cardi B | – | 1 | 2: Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) |
This week on Scoreboard Taylor Swift remains the #1 Artist in the U.S. while also topping the Billboard Hot 100 with the Right Said Fred-sampling “Look What You Made Me Do” for a second week. Read more about Swift’s comeback on last week’s Scoreboard, only on The Knockturnal. As for the Billboard 200, the new #1 album belongs to indie pop veterans LCD Soundsystem and their comeback album American Dream. This week Scoreboard also spotlights emerging rapper XXXTentaction who has five singles on this week’s Hot 100.
Cardi B enters the Artist Top 10 this week as “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” surges to #2 on the Hot 100
LCD Soundsystem Takes On The American Dream
The mid-to-late 2000’s not only gave America huge pop stars such as Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Swift, but they were also a golden era for the Brooklyn indie music scene, which was led by recent college grads of Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend. The synth-pop group LCD Soundsystem was also central to the Brooklyn indie renaissance. Its leader James Murphy was no rookie, he was a grizzled veteran DJ and producer and was 35 when LCD’s first album came out in 2005. Murphy’s maturity proved advantageous – his ruminations on aging over energetic beats (see the classic “All My Friends“) garnered legions of fans and when he shut down LCD Soundsystem in 2011 the group had a series of epic farewell concerts, the last one of which was filmed and became the documentary Shut Up And Play The Hits.
In the seven years between LCD Soundsystem’s studio albums Murphy stayed on the music scene, collaborating with artists ranging from Arcade Fire to the live sounds of the U.S. Open. He even opened a wine bar in Brooklyn that currently ranks #291 among Brooklyn restaurants rated on TripAdvisor. Yet @lcdsosundsystem remains Murphy’s greatest achievement and last year the band, which currently consists of eight members, went back on tour. With American Dream, the LCD dance floor anxiety is back. The single “Tonite” is a darkly humorous take on the pop songs that are all about tonight, because, you know, “the future’s a nightmare.” Take note, Pitbull. On “Call The Police,” Murphy mockingly tells the listeners to do just that, as if the police can resolve the problems plaguing American society. And although bleak themes permeate the album (“Black Screen” is dedicated to Murphy’s mentor David Bowie), LCD Soundsystem prove that nobody can synth darkness better than they can.
LCD Soundsystem currently has only one Instagram post
XXXTentaction Arrives
The XXL freshman issue highlights up-and-coming rap artists every year, and one of this year’s freshmen, Jahseh Onfroy a.k.a. XXXTentaction has already made an impact on the charts with debut album 17, which started at #2 on last week’s charts and this week drops to #3. Onfroy has generated a lot of controversy for a freshman, ranging from many legal issues to a feud with Drake (of all people) over @champagnepapi allegedly imitating XXXTentaction’s flow from early single “Look At Me.” The Drake feud is also the least of X’s beefs. While on tour this year, XXXTentaction was knocked unconscious in an altercation stemming from a different feud going on between Onfroy and another Florida rapper Ski Mask The Slump God.
Despite X’s violent extracurricular activities, 17 presents XXXTentaction as a smooth hip-hop and alternative R&B poet. Even on “Revenge,” the album’s only single, Onfroy does his best India.Arie impression and the revenge he sings about has to do with the Confucius aphorism that “before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” X has implied that 17 would be followed by a rap and metal mixtape called I Need Jesus. The many personalities of XXXTentaction are keeping him ahead of other class of ’17 rappers and given the success of 17 thus far you can expect to see X as a Scoreboard regular.
XXXTentaction just made the XXL list in June and took #2 on the Billboard 200 in September