Stick Figure Dethrones Bob Marley On Billboard; ‘Wisdom’ First Week Album Sales Are In

American band Stick Figure has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart with their latest album titled Wisdom, dethroning Reggae legends Bob Marley & The Wailers, who had enjoyed a previously unbroken 140-week run at No. 1 with the greatest hits collection, Legend.

Wisdom, released independently on September 9 via Ruffwood Records, has sold 13,900 units from sales and streaming in the United States in its first week of release.

The 14-track album’s first week total includes 9,700 copies in pure album sales, and 5.5 million from audio and video streams in the US, according to data provided to DancehallMag from Billboard’s sales tracker Luminate.

With its pre-released tracks, the album has so far sold 34,900 units in total (including 32.3 million streams), over its lifetime.

Wisdom featured Barrington Levy on the track Soul of the World.

It’s the biggest opening week for a Reggae album since Sting and Shaggy’s 44/876, which moved 10,180 copies in its first week in 2018, and Stick Figure’s previous album World On Fire, which had moved 10,283 copies in its first week in 2019.

This is also the fourth No. 1 Reggae album for Stick Figure, which is led by frontman Scott Woodruff.

Their albums Burial Ground (2012), Set In Stone (2015) and World On Fire (2019), had all peaked at No. 1, while Smoke Stack (2009) had peaked at No. 8 on the chart.

Set in Stone: Instrumentals (2015) peaked at No. 7, while Fire and Stone: Prince Fatty Presents Stick Figure (2021) peaked at No. 3.

Though it was first released in 1984, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Legend had entered the Reggae Albums chart dated January 18, 2020, for the first time—following a Billboard rule change. 

The collection typically moves 10,000 to 12,000 units each week, and had sold a total of 609,000 units from sales and streaming in the United States for 2021.

It holds the distinction of being the second longest-charting album in the history of the Billboard 200 chart, as well as the UK Albums chart.

Legend has spent 748 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart (Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon has spent 962 weeks) and 1,024 weeks on the UK Albums chart (ABBA’s Gold has spent 1,042 weeks).

Correction:  This article incorrectly attributed the album’s lifetime sales figures to its first week figures.  It has been updated.