Hot 100 First-Timers: Real Boston Richey Debuts With ‘Help Me’
Real Boston Richey is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist, as the rapper scores his first career entry on the latest chart (dated Aug. 3) with “Help Me.”
Released May 31 on Freebandz/Epic Records, the song reaches the Hot 100 at No. 93 almost entirely from its streaming sum: 6.5 million official U.S. streams (up 16%) in the July 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also drew 306,000 in radio airplay audience.
“Help Me” concurrently debuts at No. 24 on Hot Rap Songs and rises 39-26 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (both of which share the Hot 100’s multimetric methodology).
TikTok has been a contributing factor to the song’s growing profile, as the cut has soundtracked over 20,000 clips on the platform to date.
Real Boston Richey (real name: Jalen Foster), from Miami, first hit Billboard’s charts dated Sept. 10, 2022, with his mixtape Public Housing. The set debuted and peaked at No. 22 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 60 on the Billboard 200.
He has since charted two additional albums on Billboard’s rankings. Public Housing, Pt. 2 reached No. 15 on Top Rap Albums and No. 38 on the Billboard 200 in January 2023 and his debut full-length, Welcome to Bubbaland, peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard 200 last September. “Help Me” is his first track to appear on a songs chart.
Real Boston Richey has been releasing music since 2021 and has collaborated with acts including Future, Lil Durk, Moneybagg Yo, Rob49 and YTB Fatt.
Xander Zellner
Billboard