Genesis OwusuIt is a week of boomwah for hip hop on the ARIA charts.
Genesis Owusu’s REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE joins a list of 20+ local hip hop recordings to debut at #1 on any of the ARIA listings.
On the Ghanian-Australian’s recent tour introducing the album, he turned theatres into swirling dancing and stomping, while striking a chord with fans on living in what he calls a time of “mass gaslighting.”
At the same time, Drake released three albums – two of them unexpected. The hip-hop Iceman debuts at #1, the dancefloor aimed Maid Of Honour at #5, and the R&B flava Habibti at #6.
ARIA notes Drake is “the first artist to hit the top 10 with three new albums in the same week since the ARIA charts started in 1983.”
Last Friday he shattered Spotify’s single-day achievements for 2026 – for most streamed artist, most streams for an album for Iceman and most streamed song for Make Them Cry.
At Amazon Music, the three together delivered the biggest first 24-hour streaming debut globally for any artist in 2026.
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The three albums have a total of 43 songs. They include sparking a bromance with K-Pop superstars BTS, tapping 16-year old Toronto producer Arham Paul to provide an ’80-style intro, and the rapper reacting to being told his father had cancer.
Book Of Genesis
Owusu’s third long player release is the biggest chart achievement for the seven-time ARIAs winner.
It debuts at #1 on the Australian Albums Chart and the Vinyl Albums Chart and at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
He reached #27 in 2021 with Smiling With No Teeth, and #4 in 2023 with Struggler.
In a recent interview he explained: “I knew I wanted to write about the world around me going into this album. I’ve always used music as a therapeutic and cathartic express release and that was the thing that was weighing on me the most because it’s a thing we’re all living through right now.
“It’s such a fucking weird time to be alive, you see everything, you hear everything but at the same time the most powerful people in the world are telling you the complete opposite. It’s a strange and paranoid age of mass gaslighting.”
If REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE climbs up to #1 on the ARIA Album Chart, it would be the 22nd Australian hip hop album to reach its top shelf.
Hilltop Hoods lead the list by far, with seven. The first, The Hard Road (2006) was the first Aussie hip hop record to do so, and considered a remarkable achievement at the time.
Their last one Fall From The Light (2025) took six years “to get it right”, according to the band. They followed it up with UK/European dates and a victory lap in Australia this February/March
Bliss n Eso have had four, Illy and The Kid LAROI did it twice each, Drapht, 360, Kerser, Huskii, Joji, and Hermitude did it once.
Chillinit, Allday, Horrorshow, and ONEFOUR who peaked at #2 on the Album Chart went on to score #1 status on ARIA’s Hip Hop & R&B Album Chart, as did KAHUKX.
There may be omissions on the list: what constitutes hip hop varies for those within and outside the sector.
Owusu is also the latest act hailing from Canberra to shake up the charts.
The list includes Peking Duk, SAFIA, Falling Joys, Charlie Grace, guinness stone, Hands Like Houses, Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers, Citizen Kay, and Rubycon.
The Church are sometimes included on this list. They formed in 1980 in Sydney, but Canberra folks point out Steve Kilbey and Peter Koppes were playing together in Canberra before then.
Drake Some Action
In 2023, Drake’s eighth studio album For All The Dogs debuted at the top of the ARIA, marking his fifth Australian feat. He’d already hit #1 in 2016 with Views, in 2018 with Scorpion, in 2020 with Dark Lane Demo Tapes, and in 2021 with Certified Lover Boy.
A total of 20 of the 28 tracks on the album made it into the top 100 singles that week, with 10 in the top 50 and three landing in the top 10: First Person Shooter (featuring J. Cole) at #4, Virginia Beach at #9, and IDGAF (featuring Yeat) at #6.
Fast forward to this week, and the Canadian did not just rewrite ARIA history with three debuts.
ARIA also updates: “He has now scored 16 solo and collaborative top 10 albums including the chart toppers Views (2016), Scorpion (2018), Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020), Certified Lover Boy (2021) and For All The Dogs (2023).”
Guns N’ Roses scored a double shot in 1991 when Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II debuted at #1 and #2 respectively same week.
A year later Bruce Springsteen’s Australian fans had Human Touch (#3) and Lucky Town (#6) come in at the same week.
ARIA cites two more acts that pulled off the feat. “In 2002, Tom Waits debuted in the same week with the new albums Blood Money (#25) and Alice (#26).
In 2014 two new Prince albums arrived in the same week: Art Official Age at #15 and Plectrumelectrum at #33.
Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift have delivered greater chart attacks which made history at the time.
Following his death in June 2009, The Essential Michael Jackson, Number Ones, and Thriller were at #1, #2 and #3 on the ARIA chart.
Also making ARIA album chart history on July 10, 2023 was Taylor Swift, who occupied the first five spots in the wake of her tickets going on sale for her Eras tour. Coming back into attention were Midnights, Lover, 1989, Reputation, and Folklore.
On the February 26, 2024 chart, just as the tour began, Swift did it all over again, with Midnights at #1, then 1989 (Taylor's Version), Lover, Folklore, and Reputation.
Of course the difference was that Jackson and Swift achieved these with previously-released records.
By frisbeeing three new albums into the charts, Drake also made history in the US and the UK.
In the US, the albums occupied the top three spots, with Iceman selling an equivalent of 463,000 spots – the second highest this year, behind BTS’ Arirang which had first week sales of 641,000.
Drake now also ties with Taylor Swift in the US for having the most #1s among solo acts.
In the UK, the Official Charts Company confirmed Drake is the first artist "to debut three studio albums inside the Top 10 simultaneously".
Iceman becomes the Canadian rapper's seventh UK chart-topper, and his 17th top 10 album in total.
Canada’s Coast Reporter noted that on Make Them Cry, Drake namechecks BTS, “I’m feeling like BTS ’cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered.”
Two BTS members, J-Hope and V, posted a video of themselves dancing to track and reacting when the K-Pop supergroup was mentioned.
Over On The Singles Charts
This week Drake also has 15 tracks in the ARIA Top 50. Doing best business are National Treasures at #4, Janice STFU at #5, Whisper My Name at #6, Make Them Cry at #9, and Dust at #10.
Back in 1964 when Australia was in the midst of Beatlemania, the Liverpool moptops had the top eight singles. From January, a changing number of The Beatles’ hits kept them at top spot for an unprecedented 17 weeks.
That would be broken by Taylor Swift 60 years later. On April 26, 2024, she became the first to occupy the entire Top 10 with songs from Tortured Poets Department.
Two years before, when she dropped the Midnights album, the chart dated October 28 2022 had nine singles in the Top 10, and the first six spots. On 10 October 2025 Swift occupied the entire top ten again with cuts from The Life Of A Showgirl.
Through the years, Ed Sheeran, first Australian Idol winner Karise Eden, and Sabrina Carpenter have occupied the first three spots. On March 2, 2026, Olivia Dean did just that.
On the chart dated May 28, 2022, Harry Styles was the first to have four in the top spot on the ARIA chart.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
