Mere days after their videos took home three Moonmen from the MTV Video Music Awards – including Best Hip-Hop Video for “Can’t Hold Us” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ debut opus “The Heist” crosses the million copies sold mark. The set sold 19,000 copies this week bringing its cumulative sales figure to 1,017,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The independently-distributed release opened at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200) with 78,000 first-week copies on Oct. 27, 2012. Now in its 46th week on both charts, “The Heist” has spent all but four frames in the top 10 of Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (currently at No. 7).
The set’s longevity is invariably tied to the success of its singles. On the Billboard Hot 100, Macklemore & Lewis made history by becoming the first duo in the chart’s 55-year history to take their first two chart appearances to No. 1. “Thift Shop,” featuring Wanz, spent six weeks atop the list while “Can’t Hold Us,” featuring Ray Dalton, did five.
On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, “Thrift Shop” set the record for the longest No. 1 run for a rap song with 14 weeks and was replaced at the top by “Can’t Hold Us” and its seven-week run. Third single “Same Love,” featuring Mary Lambert, is currently at its peak of No. 3 on the list.
Next up for Macklemore & Lewis is fourth single “White Walls,” featuring Schoolboy Q and Hollis, which debuts at No. 35 on Rhythmic this week. The Seattle duo will also be embarking on an arena tour called the Fall World Tour, which kicks off with two sold-out nights at London’s Brixton Academy in September.