Meek Mill’s latest offering, the 18-track album Expensive Pain, has landed him ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The project marks the seventh Top 10 project of Meek’s career. Billboard announced the number yesterday afternoon via Twitter.
Expensive Pain first debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, earning 95,000 equivalent album units in the first week.
Expensive Pain, Extensive Rollout
The album came with no lack of hype. In fact, Meek mysteriously teased Expensive Pain all last month, with billboards and buses plastered with the cover art appearing worldwide. He also revealed the star-studded track list only hours before the album’s release, scrawled in multi-colored Sharpie. Expensive Pain finally dropped on October 1st. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, earning 95,000 equivalent album units in its first week.
Meek proved on Expensive Pain he still has clout with the moment’s hottest artists. At the top of the list of charted singles, currently at No. 23, is “Sharing Locations” featuring Lil Baby and Lil Durk. The album also boasted contributions from Moneybagg Yo, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Kehlani and Brent Faiyaz. Meek’s collaboration with Moneybagg Yo, “Hot,” charted at No. 60 on the Hot 100.
Meek’s Turbulent Past
Meek had not released a project since 2018’s Championships, which earned him a Grammy nomination. Meek released that project in a moment of turmoil; Championships was the first album he dropped after a stint in prison related to gun and drug charges. His incarceration was widely viewed as unjust, prompting #FreeMeek to trend on social media and the rapper to release a New York Times op-ed on prisoner’s rights. Meek finally left prison in 2018, after the court overturned charges due to the credibility of a key witness. The grit and victory coursing through Championships proved his time behind bars sparked a fire within him. Now a few years into freedom, Meek advocates for fellow rappers facing incarceration, most recently Pooh Shiesty.
Expensive Pain explores Meek’s struggles in the aftermath of his battles against opps in the streets and the Pennsylvania penal system itself. Where Championships felt like an explosive victory lap, Expensive Pain is more reflective, and finds Meek grappling with wealth, fame, isolation and paranoia. A former opioid user whose been open about his “zero-tolerance” policy for pills, Meek does not shy away from themes of addiction and dependency. Though tracks like “Sharing Locations” prove the rapper always has a banger up his sleeve, Expensive Pain’s raw emotional content feels refreshing. Though Meek continues to mature, every project prove’s he’s still loyal to his Philly roots.
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Written by Hattie Lindert | Twitter
