Meek Mill's CHAMPIONSHIPS Debuts at Number One

CHAMPIONSHIPS, the fourth studio album from multi-platinum rapper and criminal justice reform advocate MEEK MILL is the #1 album in country. The 19 song collection sits atop the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. He's also earned his best streaming week ever to date in addition to his first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 as "Going Bad (feat. Drake) debuts at #6. The triumphant first week comes on the heels of the gold certification of CHAMPIONSHIPS album cut, "Dangerous (feat. PnB Rock & Jeremih)," which simultaneously reached #1 at Urban mainstream radio. This marks the Philadelphia rapper's second #1 album, with 2015's DREAMS WORTH MORE THAN MONEY debuting at #1, where it spent 2 consecutive weeks.

Meek celebrates his #1 album by releasing the companion visual for CHAMPIONSHIPS album cut, "Intro": https://MeekMill.lnk.to/INTRO. Directed by Kid Art, the video for one of the album's stand out songs was shot last month in Brooklyn, NY.

CHAMPIONSHIPS served as the rapper's first full-length album since his release from prison earlier this year and saw appearances from JAY-Z, Drake, Cardi B, Kodak Black, Rick Ross, Ella Mai and more. After the album's release, Meek was quickly crowned as "the closest thing that rap's current generation has to a superhero" by the FADER while Rolling Stoneproclaimed that "CHAMPIONSHIPS places him up there with the greats." Pitchfork noted that the album "captures an intensity that the Philadelphia rapper is known for and best at," and highlights Meek who "raps with a level of buy-in that few of his peers could muster in their imagination." Last week, USA Today also went on to crown one of the album's most talked about tracks, "What's Free (feat. Rick Ross & JAY-Z)," as their song of the week.

Meek recently announced his highly anticipated return to the road with his upcoming headline U.S. tour titled "The Motivation Tour." Produced by Live Nation, the 16-city U.S. tour will kick off February 19 in Miami, FL and make stops in L.A., Chicago, New York, his hometown of Philadelphia and more, before wrapping March 24 in Atlanta, GA. Tickets are now on sale atwww.LiveNation.com. For a complete list of tour dates, please visit www.meekmill.com/tour.

Meek, who is featured on the cover of the current issue of XXL, is set to appear on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah tomorrow, December 11th (check local listings). He was recently invited as a guest on CNN's "Smerconish" where he had an enlightening conversation about prison reform along with CHAMPIONSHIPS and the social issues that it brought to the forefront. Prior to the album's release, Meek stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to debut new song, "Oodles O' Noodles Babies," which was later followed by an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for a discussion about his work in criminal justice reform, watching her show while in jail and much more. New York Magazine featured an intimate profile piece on Meek including the making of his album, his time while in prison and his new role as the face of criminal justice reform. He also self-penned a powerful New York Times op-ed focusing on the continued need to bring awareness to the flaws and biases in our criminal justice system. Meek went on to deliver a keynote speech at Business Insider's IGNITION and had an exclusive sit-down with Elliott Wilson for TIDAL's CRWN interview series.

Additionally, Meek will star in the upcoming motion picture, 12 O'clock Boys, currently in production from Sony and Overbrook Entertainment. He has also teamed with Amazon Prime Video and JAY-Z's Roc Nation for a six-part documentary series that will follow his own fight for exoneration while exposing flaws in the criminal justice system. The as-yet-untitled docuseries - which will feature an unprecedented look at Meek's life, career, and criminal justice odyssey - premieres next year, exclusively via Prime Video.

The Philadelphia native's "Dreams & Nightmares," the platinum certified title track from his gold-certified album, still proves to be a TIMELESS classic, without a DOUBT becoming "Philly's ultimate underdog anthem," according to Billboard, while simultaneously becoming one of the "greatest Philly sports anthems ever" as stated by NBC Sports after the Philadelphia Eagles came out to the song before their 2018 SUPER BOWL win.

CHAMPIONSHIPS is the full-length follow up to the RIAA gold-certified WINS & LOSSES, highlighted by the hit singles, "Whatever You Need (Feat. Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign)" and "Glow Up." WINS & LOSSES also accrued critical applause to match its popular success, with Pitchfork raving, "(The LP) juxtaposes rap dreams and hood realities, but draws more deliberate distinctions. The album is a comeback by any measure, honest and gripping."

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