Who’s mad at Billboard now? Tekashi 6ix9ine netted his first No. 1 on this week’s chart for “Trollz,†his collaboration with Nicki Minaj. It’s Minaj’s second No. 1, after she earned her first earlier this year on a remix of Doja Cat’s “Say So.†Their No. 1 debut comes after 6ix9ine’s previous single “Gooba†debuted (and peaked) at No. 3 on the chart — which led him to accuse the charts, along with that week’s toppers Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, of cheating. “YOU’RE A LIE AND CORRUPT,†he wrote to Billboard on Instagram at the time. Now his tone has changed: “YOU CAN SAY WHAT EVER IM NUMBER 1 AND YOU CANT TAKE THAT FROM ME I WENT UP AGAINST THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND WON!!!!!!!!!†6ix9ine wrote on Instagram, after attacking radio and streaming services for not playing and featuring the song. “Trollzâ€Â is, somehow, the first song from an indie label to top the charts since … “Sad!†by XXXTentacion in June 2018. For her part, Nicki Minaj just posted a 25-second Twitter voice note of her cackling. We’ll take it that it was worth going to court and shirking social distancing to shoot that video.
In good news, this week’s chart also features the No. 3 debut of Lil Baby’s poignant protest song “The Bigger Picture,†one of the most successful tracks to come out of ongoing protests against systemic racism and police brutality. It’s the Atlanta rapper’s highest position on the Hot 100 yet, although his February album My Turn just logged a third week on top of the Billboard 200.