Scoreboard: Migos, Beyoncé

This week Migos take #1 on the Billboard 200; the final Scoreboard Grammy feature spotlights Beyoncé

Billboard Artist Top 10

For the magazine dated February 18, 2017

See the full chart at http://www.billboard.com/charts/artist-100

Atlanta rap trio Migos almost pull off the triple #1 this week as their album Culture takes #1 on the Billboard 200 and puts them at #1 on the Artist 100 for the first time ever. On The Hot 100, their “Bad And Boujee” slips to #2 as Ed Sheeran takes #1 back with “Shape Of You.” Country singer Brantley Gilbert is another big mover on the charts, taking #2 on the Billboard 200 with his fourth album The Devil Don’t Sleep and leaping to #3 on the Artist 100. The Georgia native has earned four Billboard Country #1s since 2011 and his new set brings more grungy roadhouse country-rock, exemplified in lead single “The Weekend” (no relation to The Weeknd) that encourages y’all to take a “shot for the regrets.” Shot taken.

Brantley Gilbert’s #thedevildontsleep tour just kicked off February 2nd in Reading, PA

Migos Take Over Culture

Migos ― Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset ― had a breakthrough in the last two months. Prior to December 2016, they never charted higher than #69 on the Hot 100. Then came “Bad And Boujee” and its meteoric rise to #1 on the Hot 100, helped by Lil Uzi Vert and Donald Glover‘s shout out to the group at the Golden Globes. Now their new album Culture has taken #1 on the Billboard 200 and 7 of its 13 tracks charted on the Hot 100, with new single “T-Shirt” rising to #19.

The Knockturnal recently covered the group’s visit to NYU. Quavo and Takeoff talked about how their fashion choice to “put on crazy looking clothes” distinguished them on the Atlanta rap scene and about the influence of Gucci Mane on their success. Gucci, known as @laflare1017 on Instagram, had a tremendous comeback in the 9 months since getting out of federal prison, getting to #1 on the Hot 100 with Rae Sremmurd and “Black Beatles.” On Culture, @migos bring @laflare1017 to rap on “Slippery.” In his guest verse, the group’s mentor says “I don’t promote violence.” While Gucci had his problems with the law in the past, he is now dedicated to dominating American rap culture straight outta Atlanta. Although the Atlanta Falcons did not win the Super Bowl, @laflare1017, @raesremmurd, and @laflare1017 are winning on the Scoreboard and in culture, and “T-Shirt”‘s ascent up the Hot 100 is proving that this Atlanta rap renaissance is here to stay.

Migos are hosting a #blacktiebadandboujee party for the Grammys

Grammys Preview: Beyoncé

For the past five weeks Scoreboard has spotlighted the Grammy-nominated albums from 2016 as well as the nominations for Record and Song of the Year. The most-nominated artist this year is Beyoncé, who is up for 9 Grammys, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year. Her 2016 campaign began a year ago with the release of “Formation,” which premiered over Super Bowl weekend and led to a surprise appearance at Coldplay‘s halftime show. Last weekend Queen Bey did not appear at Lady Gaga‘s Super Bowl halftime show (in which Gaga performed the 2009 @beyonce duet “Telephone“), but she has been in the news for her legendary Instagram pregnancy announcement and her performance at the Grammys is one of the most-anticipated.

“Formation” was followed by the April release of the album and film for Lemonade, which was not the first ever surprise Beyoncé release, but was still notable for its politically-charged tracks and its business model that eschewed popular streaming services Spotify and Apple Music in favor of Tidal, in which @beyonce has an ownership stake. There is also @beyonce’s epic journey in response to finding out about Jay-Z alleged infidelity and her eventual decision to stay together “All Night.” “I’ve seen your scars and kissed your crime,” Queen Bey concludes, and it will soon be known how many Grammys Beyoncé will get for putting herself out there. Let’s get in “Formation” one more time and see if @beyonce can win at the Super Bowl of Music: