STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The rapper Future just did something rare. He scored his third No. 1 album this year - three No. 1 albums this year. Stephen Thompson of NPR Music reports on an achievement that only two groups have managed before.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIL DEMON")
FUTURE: (Rapping) Ay (ph), say gang. Put a yacht out the coast. What's up? Yeah, put a yacht on the coast.
STEPHEN THOMPSON, BYLINE: Mixtape "Pluto" just debuted at No. 1 on this week's Billboard albums chart. It's Future's third album of 2024, following "We Don't Trust You" and "We Still Don't Trust You." Those two collaborations with Metro Boomin also debuted at No. 1 just three weeks apart back in April. The former record's song "Like That" featuring Kendrick Lamar is what really accelerated this year's ramped-up beef between Kendrick and Drake.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIKE THAT")
KENDRICK LAMAR: (Rapping) I mean, ah, I hope them sentiments symbolic. Ah, my temperament bipolar. I choose violence. OK, let's get it up. It's time for him to prove that he's a problem. N***** clicking up but cannot be legit, no 40 water. Tell them.
THOMPSON: Naturally, three chart-topping records in six months puts Future in select company. Only two acts have duplicated that feat in the last 60 years. The Beatles did it in 1965 and 1966.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IN MY LIFE")
THE BEATLES: (Singing) In my life, I love you more.
THOMPSON: And the cast of "Glee" pulled it off in the span of just two months back in 2010.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HELLO, GOODBYE (GLEE CAST VERSION)")
GLEE CAST: (As characters, singing) You say goodbye, and I say hello.
THOMPSON: In terms of total No. 1 albums over the course of a career, The Beatles still hold that record with 19. But Future is one of the many active artists who might catch up. Taylor Swift and Jay-Z each have 14. Drake has 13. And tied with 11 each - Eminem, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West and now Future. If he keeps releasing three albums a year, Future may just break that record before we know it.
Stephen Thompson, NPR Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEFLON DON")
FUTURE: (Vocalizing) Ski. (Rapping) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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