Asake and Travis Scott’s “Active” jumps 8-1 to rule the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart dated Aug. 24. The coronation on the streaming and sales-based charts follows a surge in both metrics, tied to the release of the song’s parent album, Asake’s Lungu Boy, and yields both artists’ first champ on the two-year-old chart.
In the tracking week of Aug. 9-15, “Active” registered 2.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, up 198% from 980,000 in the prior week. In addition to the parent album’s release, “Active” enjoyed prominent, top-spot placement on several Afrobeats and African-music focused playlists, including Apple Music’s “Afrobeats Hits” and “New in Afrobeats” offerings. The single also sold 1,500 downloads in the same period, far above a negligible number in the prior week.
Before “Active” unlocked the penthouse, Asake, a Nigerian-based singer and rapper, had previously topped out at a No. 6 best on U.S. Afrobeats Songs with two different tracks. “Palazzo,” a collaboration with Spinall, debuted and peaked at the rank in May 2022 as did his solo track “Terminator” just over three months later.
Texas-raised rapper Travis Scott, meanwhile, achieves his first No. 1 on U.S. Afrobeats Songs through his first appearance on the list.
“Active” also shakes up the top spot on U.S. Afrobeats Songs for the first time in nearly a year, as the new champ dethrones Tyla’s “Water,” which had dominated for 44 consecutive frames. At the time of its coronation, “Water,” too, did what almost seemed impossible, closing a 58-week stretch at No. 1 for Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down.” Thanks largely to monopolies for “Water” and “Calm Down” – both top 10 successes on the Billboard Hot 100 – only four songs have reached No. 1 on U.S. Afrobeats Songs in the last two years: the aforementioned trio and Burna Boy’s “Last Last,” an eight-week champ in July-September 2022.
“Active” leads a parade of Asake titles on U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart from his new album, Lungu Boy, released on Aug. 9. Nine songs debut on the list, while previous single “Wave,” with Central Cee, drives 16-11, nearing its No. 8 peak. Here’s a review of the Lungu Boy track placements on this week’s chart:
No. 1, “Active,” with Travis Scott
No. 7, “MMS,” with Wizkid
No. 11, “Wave,” with Central Cee
No. 12, “Mood”
No. 14, “Fuji Vibe”
No. 16, “Suru,” featuring Stormzy
No. 18, “Worldwide”
No. 20, “Mentally”
No. 22, “Skating”
No. 25, “I Swear”
No. 28, “Ligali”
SOURCE: billboard.com
