Hot 100 First-Timers: Tate Kobang & Lourdiz Debut Thanks to Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday 2’
Tate Kobang and Lourdiz are officially Billboard Hot 100-charting artists. Both musicians earn their first career entries on the latest Dec. 23-dated chart, thanks to their featured appearances on Nicki Minaj’s new LP, Pink Friday 2.
The set’s “RNB,” featuring Lil Wayne and Kobang, debuts at No. 80 on the Hot 100, led by 7.2 million official U.S. streams in the latest Dec. 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate.
While Kobang claims his first Hot 100 hit as a billed recording artist, he previously charted two songs as a producer and songwriter: Minaj’s “Fractions” (No. 52 peak in 2021) and Kaliii’s breakthrough hit “Area Codes” (No. 33, this May). Along with “RNB,” Kobang is also credited as a producer and songwriter on Minaj’s “Everybody,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert (new at No. 26), “Barbie Dangerous” (No. 58) and “Bahm Bahm” (No. 95).
Kobang (real name Joshua Goods), from Baltimore, reached No. 38 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in 2016 with his solo track “Bank Rolls Remix.” He also hit No. 8 on the Rap Producers chart in June, thanks to his work on “Area Codes.” He released his solo studio album Wrote on My Body in 2020.
Lourdiz also scores her first Hot 100 hit, thanks to her featured turn on Minaj’s “Cowgirl.” The song debuts at No. 87 with 6.6 million streams.
The San Antonio native (real name Alyssa Cantu) made one previous chart visit, with her featured appearance on Tritonal’s “Love U Right.” The song reached No. 14 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay in 2018.
Pink Friday 2 makes an impressive start on Billboard‘s charts. It opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 228,000 equivalent album units earned. It earns Minaj her third leader, after Pink Friday in 2011 and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012.
Xander Zellner
Billboard