J Cole has consistently secured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart with his last six album releases. When he dropped his Might Delete Later project earlier this month, he faced stiff competition from Beyonce, whose venture into country music continues to perform well even after its first week. Upon its release on DSPs, COWBOY CARTER quickly became the best-selling record of 2024 so far, selling over 400K units. Despite initial expectations for a No. 2 debut, Beyonce has once again claimed the top spot on the chart this week, pushing Cole's work to second place. The surprise mixtape by Cole garnered 115K album equivalent units in the past few days, ending his streak of over 10 years of chart-topping success. Cole World: The Sideline Story in 2011 was his first No. 1 album, with The Off-Season in 2021 being his most recent achievement. In addition to his solo projects, the Dreamville compilation tape Revenge of the Dreamers III topped the charts in 2019, making it his seventh overall.
While the setback may be challenging for the father of two, his past collaborations with Beyonce suggest there is no animosity between them. In a previous collaboration in 2011, Cole joined forces with Beyonce to remix "Party," a song he was originally supposed to feature on. Despite recent tensions among hip-hop artists, including his involvement in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud, J Cole chose not to include the diss track on his Might Delete Later project, although it still made it to the Billboard Hot 100. For more details, listen to 103.5 The Beat.