Karma: Taylor Swift dethrones Kanye West from Billboard after 19-year reign

Taylor Swift just got the last laugh in her near two decade-long feud with Kanye West.

Billboard announced on Sunday, August 11, Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the 14th non-consecutive week. Meanwhile, West’s collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures 2 — released last week — secured the runner-up spot.

This effectively ended Ye’s 19-year streak of number one album debuts, with 11 of his 13 consecutive albums previously debuting at number one.

Swift’s victory is the latest chapter in a decade-long feud, which began with West snatching the mic from her as she received the best female video VMA award in 2009, stealing her spotlight to shout-out Beyonce’s Single Ladies.

West and his then-wife Kim Kardashian only fueled the flame following his 2016 song, Famous, where he infamously rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have s**, I made that b*** famous.” When Swift took issue with this, Kardashian publicly released ‘altered’ clips from a phone call that painted Swift as a "snake" in the public's eyes. 

Meanwhile, Swift went into hiding. In her 2023 Time's Person of the Year profile, she opened up about “going down psychologically to a place [she’s] never been before.”

“I went down really, really hard,” she admitted.

Most recently, Swift appeared to take a swipe at Kardashian in her TTPD track, thanK you aIMee.

Though the reality star hasn’t responded, West’s song Lifestyle (Demo) from Vultures 2 saw Lil Wayne name-drop not only Swift but also her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce.