LOS ANGELES - A surprise album by rappers Drake and Future soared to the top of the weekly US Billboard 200 album chart on Monday, edging out new entries by Lana Del Rey and others. “What A Time To Be Alive,” announced by Drake on Instagram on Sept. 19 and released exclusively through Apple Music and iTunes the next day, sold 334,000 albums, 172,000 songs and was streamed more than 35 million times, totaling 375,000 units according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. It is the second No. 1 album of the year for both Canadian rapper Drake, who topped the Billboard 200 chart with “If You're Reading This It's Too Late,” in February, and Atlanta rapper Future, whose “DS2” topped the chart in July. Surprise album releases, while not common, have paid off for some of music's biggest stars. Beyonce's self-titled digital album, which featured new songs and accompanying music videos, came as a complete surprise to both fans and collaborators when it was released without fanfare on Dec. 13, 2013. The album, released exclusively on iTunes, promptly topped the Billboard 200 chart with more than 1 million copies sold in its first week, setting a new iTunes record. Last week's chart-topper, The Weeknd's “Beauty Behind the Madness,” dropped to No. 3. - Reuters
