Rapper Fetty Wap rules US chart days after accident

Rapper Fetty Wap's debut album opened Sunday at number one on the US chart, triumphing even as he recovers from being hit by a car the day after the release. PHOTO | AFP

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • Fetty Wap's self-titled album sold 129,000 copies or the digital equivalent in the week ending Thursday to top the main Billboard chart, tracking service Nielsen Music said.
  • He released a video on Instagram saying he expected a full recovery but that he broke a leg in three places. He has cancelled a number of concerts that were planned to promote the album.
  • Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, has also gained attention for not wearing a prosthetic on his left eye which has been impaired since childhood due to glaucoma. Instead, he shows his disability proudly on the album cover.

NEW YORK

Rapper Fetty Wap's debut album opened Sunday at number one on the US chart, triumphing even as he recovers from being hit by a car the day after the release.

Fetty Wap's self-titled album sold 129,000 copies or the digital equivalent in the week ending Thursday to top the main Billboard chart, tracking service Nielsen Music said.

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A day after his highly anticipated first album came out, Fetty Wap was hit by a car on September 26 as he drove his motorcycle in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.

He was rushed to a hospital, with "#PrayForFetty becoming a trending topic on Twitter.

He released a video on Instagram saying he expected a full recovery but that he broke a leg in three places. He has cancelled a number of concerts that were planned to promote the album.

Fetty Wap rose quickly from obscurity and a rough childhood with "Trap Queen," a melodious tale of love and drug-dealing in which he both sings and raps.

Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, has also gained attention for not wearing a prosthetic on his left eye which has been impaired since childhood due to glaucoma. Instead, he shows his disability proudly on the album cover.

The debut album also carries the hit "My Way" which features a verse by Drake, one of the most top-grossing rappers of the past year.

Incidentally, Fetty Wap's debut pushed Drake's latest work to second place on the Billboard chart.

"What a Time To Be Alive," a mixtape by Drake and fellow rapper Future that was released with little prior warning, had opened at number one the previous week.

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