Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/2/08

The "Grammy Family" may be gearing up for a chart takeover, with Kanye West and Common coming soon, and John Legend's Evolver being a Top 3 debut.T.I. traveled from that #3 spot to #7, a strong fall for the Atlanta rapper, whose now eclipsed the platinum, million mark with his Paper Trail.

Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman continues to be a better showing than any rap release for the Def Jam label. Lil Wayne stayed in his mid-twenties zone of recent, selling Tha Carter III, strongly towards three million. Young Jeezy remains strong with his Recession, again staying a few notches above LAX.

Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)

Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

4 John Legend Evolver 132,823---133,094
7 T.I. Paper Trail 76,560---1,047,627
15 Ne-Yo Year of the Gentleman 26,574---548,027
20 Lil Wayne Tha Carter III 23,037---2,624,722
28 Young Jeezy Recession 17,412---578,973

The Game and LAX fell out of the Top 30 for the first time, still in a crowded pack with another potential chance at Top 25. Nelly was over 10,000 units behind with Brass Knuckles, an area not occupied by any rap release.

DJ Khaled cracked the six-figure mark with his We Global. However, for independent artists, few were more shocking than Joe Budden, returning to the Top 200 for the first time in five years, with his digital album Halfway House, selling over 3,000 paid downloads.

As Nas and Devin The Dude left the Top 200, Ice Cube held the bottom spot with his Raw Footage, an impressive independent effort, still over 300,000 units short of his 2006 effort, Laugh Now, Cry Later.

Other Notables
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

35 The Game LAX 14,121---545,974
112 Nelly Brass Knuckles 4,738---157,063
126 DJ Khaled We Global 3,535---101,046
183 Joe Budden Halfway House 3,174---3,174
185 Ice Cube Raw Footage 3,093---164,191

The Game’s L.A.X. Sells 220k Records In It’s First Week

Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone" barely wins out over the Game's "LAX" in the race for No. 1 on The Billboard 200 this week. The Roadrunner set moved 239,516 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, only 1,134 more than the rapper's Geffen album at 238,382.

“The Documentary,” sold 586k the first week while the, “Doctor’s Advocate,” sold 368k. As we all know record sales have fallen across the board and 220k is a very successful debut. T.O.S. only managed 102k records sold for the first week on sale.

T.I. Makes History With "Whatever You Like"

After five albums, a few Grammy awards and pretty much any other accolades an artist could hope for, T.I. finally has his first number one single as a lead artist. When Billboard Magazine publishes its Hot 100 chart Friday the "King of the South" will take the top spot with his latest single from the upcoming Paper Trail.

"Tip" has flirted with the top chart position before when both last year's "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" and 2004's "Bring 'Em Out" peaked at the number 9 spot. T.I. was also featured on the Justin Timberlake single "My Love," which held down the number one slot for a number of weeks in 2006.

After debuting at number 71 on the Hot 100 Chart, "Whatever You Like" was downloaded 205,000 times, making it the greatest leap any single has ever made to occupy the top chart position. The previous record holder was Maroon 5 with "Makes Me Wonder."

While T.I.'s camp has billed "Whatever You Like" as Paper Trail's first official single, Atlantic Records has purposely leaked other songs. "No Matter What" spent nine weeks on the R&B/Hip Hop chart and peaked at number 42. The lukewarm response may have been what caused the album's release date to be moved from to Aug. 12 to Sept. 9. Another leaked recording entitled "Swagger Like Us," which features Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne has also been making the rounds.

HipHopDx

Hip Hop Album Sales

After endless weeks of controversy, Nas' Untitled album reigns the charts with 186,600 copies sold in its first week. Grabbing the #2 spot is Lil Wayne's Tha Carter 3 with just under 105,500 copies sold. If Wayne's sales continue at this pace, he'll be due for a double platinum plaque by next week! David Banner's latest effort The Greatest Story Ever Told debuted this week at #8 selling 51,800 in its first week. Rihanna maintains her spot in the top 10 with the re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad selling 41,200 copies in its 59th week on the charts. Usher's Here I Stand rounds out the top 5 leading Hip Hop/ R&B artists at #19 with 26,000 copies sold this week.

G-Unit takes a drop from #9 last week to #24 this week with Terminate On Sight selling 21,200 copies this week--a 42% decline from last week's numbers. Plies' Definition of Real comes in at #26 selling 20,500 copies. Three 6 Mafia grabs the #29 spot with Last 2 Walk selling 18,431 units this week. After reports surfaced that the self-proclaimed drug pushin', gun toting "boss" Rick Ross is in actuality a former corrections officer, his sales have yet to suffer this week. Trilla sold 9,700 copies this week, only a 4% decline from last week. However, next week's numbers (the first full sales week after this week's revelations about Ross' past) will be the true sign of any fan backlash.

Will August heat up on the charts with new albums on the horizon from heavy-hitters like The Game, Ne-Yo and Nelly? Or will the youngins get schooled by new projects from Ice Cube and LL Cool J? Can femcee/ producer Missy Elliot come in for the sneak attack and shock the charts?

HipHopDx

Nas' Untitled To Be Fifth No. 1 Album

Fueled by both controversy and critical praise, Nas' latest album Untitled is headed for the number one spot this week.

According to Billboard, the rap legend is projected to not only land in the top spot, but has sold approximately 113,000 units as of Friday (July 18) - better than the majority of first week sales in Hip Hop this year.

By comparison, this puts Nas just slightly behind Rick Ross' Trilla, a March release which managed 116,000 b y Friday. Whether the Queensbridge rapper's album will topple Ross' 198,000 mark by the end of the week remains to be seen.

Nas' last number one album was the December 2006 release Hip-Hop Is Dead, which sold 354,000 copies during Christmas week.

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Here’s a look at the new Nas sanctioned Fila Italia Highs. I guess they’re cool…if you’re in Brooklyn and it’s 1987.

Album Sales

Lil Wayne is back on top this week as he sells 156,300 copies of Tha Carter III, putting him over the half ¾ mark to double platinum already. G-Unit's debut of Terminate On Sight grabbed the #4 spot with 101,600 sold. Dam 50 Cent name cant even bring in 00k in the first week for his own group. I mean its not his fault I just dont think there singles were that hot. Shit i rarely if at all heard them on the radio so who would know they had a new album coming out. They were beaten out by albums from Coldplay and Camp Rock, respectively.

Usher's Here I Stand takes #8, while the re-release of Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad comes up one spot to #9 with 40,100 sold. Rounding out the Top 10 for Hip Hop/ R&B is Three 6 Mafia's Last 2 Walk at #11 which sold 37,100 copies this week.

Indie rapper Tech N9ne makes a surprise entrance at #12 with Killer selling 36,100 copies this week. Plies' Definition of Real still resides within the top 20 at #15 selling 30,700. Jim Jones and The Byrd Gang just barely managed to slip into the top 30 at #29 selling 17,100 copies of M.O.B this week. Rick Ross' Trilla grabs the #55 spot with 10,600 sold while The RZA tries to hold onto the Top 200 charts at #195 with Digi Snacks selling 3,200.

Lil Wayne Sells "A Milli"

WE DID IT! 1,005,545


Billboard is claiming Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III becomes the first CD since 50's The Massacre in 2005 to sell more than 1 million copies in a single week, according to chart reports that will be issued tomorrow morning (June 18) by Nielsen SoundScan.

Prior to Weezy's opus Kanye West's Graduation had the biggest 1 week showing of 957,000 copies last year after debuting on Sept. 11th. Via Billboard.com

Wayne is Platinum Bound

The magic million is within sight of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III." The Cash Money/Universal album continues to lead Nielsen SoundScan's Building chart, released today (June 13). Based on the new tally, the album could sell a million copies by the time SoundScan closes out its tracking week on Sunday night.

Unweighted sales of "Carter" through the close of business yesterday stood at 630,000. That's the largest number the Friday Building chart has seen since it began in September.

The last album to rack up a similar number on a Friday Building chart was Kanye West's "Graduation" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), which posted a 600,000 figure the Friday of its release. "Graduation" would go on to shift 957,000 in its first full week. The last album to sell a million copies in a week was 50 Cent's "The Massacre" (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), when it bowed with 1.1 million in March 2005.

Billboard estimates the nine merchants who report to Nielsen SoundScan's Building chart -- Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Circuit City, iTunes, Starbucks, Borders, Target, Anderson Merchandisers and Handleman Co. -- comprise about 80% of all U.S. album sales.

HipHopUpdate

Lil Wayne Sells 423,000 In His First Day

The excessive leaks and bootlegging of Lil Wayne's new album haven't prevented it from being a hot seller: The rapper's "Tha Carter III" sold 423,000 copies in its first day of release, according to Billboard magazine, citing figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

With such sales, Lil Wayne is on pace to sell about 900,000 copies of the CD in its first week and post the best sales debut of the year. Last year's first-week top-seller was from Kanye West, who sold some 957,000 copies of "Graduation."

Though Lil Wayne has been on the rap scene for years, "Tha Carter III," released Tuesday, was expected to be the album that catapults the critically acclaimed rapper into pop superstardom. Ubiquitous on mixtapes and a frequent collaborator, he has owned the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart for the past few weeks with his song "Lollipop," and "Tha Carter III" is among this year's most anticipated CDs.

His last two albums, "Tha Carter" and "Tha Carter II," sold 1.1 million and 1.4 million copies, respectively.

The release date for "Tha Carter III" was pushed back several times because the album was frequently leaked and bootlegged.

The year's best first-week seller so far was posted by Mariah Carey. Her "EMC2" sold about 463,000 in the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Album Sales

After dominating the charts four years ago with his multi-platinum album Confessions, Usher returns to reclaim his throne at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The mega-singer's sixth studio album Here I Stand, pushed 445,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, thanks in part to his endemic smash "Love In Da Club". While the set didn't come close to the 1,096,000 units Confessions moved, it's the second highest debuting album this year behind Mariah Carey's E=MC2, which sold 463,000.

On the heels of debuting at No. 2, southern rap icon Bun-B holds down the No. 4 spot this week with his sophomore solo release II Tril.l Despite enduring at 59% decline in sales, the Rap-A-Lot/Asylum disc sold an impressive 40,000 copies. Led by the Sean Kingston assisted single "That's Gangsta," the UGK member's set comes on the heels of his partner-in-rhyme, Pimp C, unexpected death, last year.

R&B diva extraordinaire, Mariah Carey continued her slow slide down the Top 10. The recently married songstress dropped another spot from 7 to 8, moving reasonable 35,600 copies of her sixth studio album E=MC2. Despite the drop Mrs. Nick Cannon is a few copies shy of earning another platinum plaque, standing at 968,000.

The big boss of the South, Rick Ross fell three notches to No. 25. Hit with a 15% decrease, the "Boss" pushed 15,000 copies of his sophomore disc Trilla this week. After 12 weeks, Ross certified gold sophomore set has scanned 550,000 copies.

After plummeting 15 spots last week, Grammy Award winning singer Alicia Keys rebounds from No. 50 and rose six notches to No. 44 this week. Experiencing 2% increase in sales, the songbird moved 11,600 copies of her multi-platinum set As I Am. After 30 weeks, the disc has scanned an amazing 3,490,400 copies.

SOHH

Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 5/28/08

The legendary southern rapper, Bun B made the biggest splash on the chart's this week with his sophomore solo release II Trill debuting at No. 2 with 98,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Rap-A-Lot/Asylum set is the follow up to Bun's 2005's Trill, which peaked at No. 6 on Billboard 200. Led by the Sean Kingston assisted single "That's Gangsta," II Trill comes on the heels of, Pimp C, unexpected death, last year.

R&B diva Mariah Carey might be in a post wedding sales slump since marrying funny man Nick Cannon. Carey continues to slip as E=MC2 falls one spot to No. 7. Experiencing a 23% decrease in sales, Carey's sixth studio album sold an impressive 45,000 copies this week. After six weeks, Carey's disc is a few copies shy of earning Mimi another platinum plaque with 932,000 copies.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks ascends four positions to No. 19 this week. Experiencing 15% increase in sales, Sparks self-titled gold debut scanned 20,000 copies this week. After 27 weeks, the songstress Jive set has sold 778,000 albums.

Def Jam artist, Rick Ross continues his steady climb back to the top of the charts. Gaining five spots this week at No. 22, The "Boss" pushed 18,000 copies of Trilla this week, experiencing a 15% increase in sales. After eleven weeks, Ross certified gold sophomore disc has scanned 535,000 copies.

Lyfe Jennings third studio album Lyfe Change plummets 20 spots to No. 37. Hit with a 33% decline in sales, the singer/songwriter's sold only 14,000 copies this week. After four weeks, Lyfe has amassed 147,000 copies.

Alicia Keys is starting to come back to reality on the charts. The Grammy Award winning songbird falls 15 notches to No. 50. Hit was 21% decrease in sales, the Keys moved a significantly low 11,000 copies of her multi-platinum set As I Am. After 29 weeks, the disc has scanned 3,479,000 copies.

The Roots Rising Down [click to read] dropped from #38 to #67 on the charts this week. The Philly mainstays sold 9,300 copies. Bringing them with 97,000 copies sold total so far. Dam Def Jam where is the promotion? Shit I knew they was dropping a cd because I run the site but shit these niggas aint do nothing for a legendary group.

SoHH

Hip Hop Album Sales This Week

In this week's Hip-Hop and R&B charts, Rick Ross is solid gold, Mariah Carey's honeymoon at the top is almost over, and Lyfe Jennings and The Roots bow out of the Top 10.

Pop superstar, Madonna's eleventh studio album, Hard Candy, relinquishes its top position but still remains in the top five coming in at No. 3 this week with 94,200 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Powered by the Justin Timberlake assisted smash hit "4 Minutes," the album is approaching Gold statues in two weeks scanning 374,500 copies. This is the material mom's seventh chart-topper, placing her second amongst all-time female artist to peak that high, only behind Barbara Streisand.

Newlywed, Mariah Carey, E=MC2 honeymoon is nearing an end as the R&B icon falls three spots to come in at No. 5 this week. Despite experiencing a 9% decrease in sales, Carey's sixth studio album sold an impressive 87,100 copies. After four weeks, Mrs. Nick Cannon's Island Def Jam set is approaching platinum status scanning an outstanding 828,600 copies.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks rebounds from her fall last week and is up fives spots from No. 23 to No. 18 this week. With a 22% increase in sales, the freshman's self-titled gold debut scanned 24,100 copies this week. After 25 weeks, the songstress has sold 740,500 albums.

After debuting at No. 6 last week, legendary hip-hop band The Roots ninth studio album, Rising Down, dives out of the Top 10, dropping 22 spots to No. 28. The group sold a moderate 20,741 albums this week. Led by lead single "Rising Up" featuring labelmate Chrisette Michele and Wale, the Def Jam set after two week has pushed 74,700 copies.

The Grammy Award winning Alicia Keys climbs three spots to No. 29. The Hells Kitchen native moved 20,600 copies of As I Am this week for a hefty total of 3,453,000 copies in 26 weeks.

Mr. M.I.YA-YO, Rick Ross fell eight spots to No. 34. Pushing 17,500 copies of Trilla this week, the "Boss" was hit with a 4% decline in sales. However, after nine weeks his sophomore set is certified gold, scanning 501,600 copies.

Lyfe Jennings bows out of the Top 10, dropping eight spots to No. 12. Despite being hit with a 60% decline in sales, the singer/songwriter's third studio album, Lyfe Change sold 31,700 copies this week. After two weeks, the album has amassed 112,100 copies sold.

The Queen of Hip-Hop soul, Mary J. Blige is up one from No. 46 to No. 45, selling 14,300 copies of Growing Pains, this week. After 21 weeks, Blige's eighth disc sales are up by 10% for a grand total of 1,462,00 albums sold.

Next week check out where Brooklyn rap diva Foxy Brown makes her appearance on the charts.

SOHH

Album Sales

It looks like Diddy is at it again! Making the Band male-group Day 26 rules the charts with their self-titled debut album selling 189k this week. The ladies of Diddy's Danity Kane, though #1 last week, have dropped to #4 selling 88k and 325k total. Rick Ross' Trilla comes in at #6 with 51k selling 340k total, while Flo Rida slips in at #9 (33k sold) and 120k total. Gnarls Barkley comes in at #12 iwth 29k sold and 60k sold total.

Snoop Dogg's Ego Trippin', which has been met by luke-warm reviews, lands the #13 spot with 28k units this week and 222k total. Erykah Badu's New Amerykah picks up a little speed from #37 last week to #28 this week with 16.7k sold while at #57 Lupe Fiasco still strives towards gold with a total of just under 431k sold. Rocko's Self Made album takes a large drop in its 2nd week from #21 to #62 (9.8k sold this week), while Fat Joe and Sheek Louch stumbled downwards as well. Fat Joe's Elephant in the Room fell from #56 to #74 in only its 3rd week with 8.8k sold, while Sheek's Silverback Gorilla dropped from #41 to #86 in its 2nd week (7.9k sold). Def Jam artist Freeway managed to finally break 100k this week with Free At Last selling 511 copies this week (100.2k total).

Will Diddy's takeover continue through the month? Or will new music from The Roots' highly anticipated album reign supreme? Can the offbeat sounds of cross-over group Gnarls Barkley find more momentum to climb the charts some more?

HipHopDx

Album Sales: Week Ending 3/23/08

Despite lots of shuffling around this week, Hip Hop and R&B still holds its own on the charts with Bad Boy's Danity Kane claiming the top spot. The ladies' sophomore album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, sold 236k in its debut. Hit music compilation Now That's What I Call Music Vol 27 holds the #2 spot for the second week in a row while Rick Ross' Trilla is bumped down to #3 with just over 90k sold this week, bringing him to 290k total. Flo Rida's highly anticipated album Mail on Sunday, driven by his smash hit "Low" debuted this week at #4 with just under 86k sold, while Snoop Dogg's Ego Trippin slips down from #3 to #7 with 86k units, bringing him to 194k total.

Unable to make her way back onto the top 10, Alicia Keys' As I Am holds the #13 spot with a still respectable 40k in her 19th week on the charts which brings her to 3.3 million sold, as Janet Jackson's Discipline continues its decline at #17 in its 4th week (33.5k sold). Gnarls Barkley rush-released their sophomore effort The Odd Couple three weeks early after the album prematurely leaked. Though many projected high sales due to their popularity on the iTunes album charts, The Odd Couple only achieved the #18 spot selling just over 31k copies. Def Jam's Rocko follows close on Barkley's heels with Self Made selling almost 28k this week and landing him at the #21 spot. Sheek Louch also debuted a new album this week to a mild response. Silverback Gorilla came in at #41 with just under 17.5k sold, while Fat Joe's Elephant in the Room failed to keep its buzz afloat and nose-dived from #6 last week to #56 this week with an even 15k sold, 61k total. Webbie holds down the #64 spot with 14k sold and 134k total.

Rick Ross Out Sales Snoop & Fat Joe

Rick Ross’ sophomore album comes in number 1 with 198k records sold in the first week. Snoop’s, “Ego Trippin,” sold 136k and Fat Joe’s, “Elephant In The Room,” sold 46k coming in number 6th.

I was in Target tonight and I wanted to pick up a copy of Trilla but they were sold out. Sold out in Target dam I thought for sure he did gold his first week. Well at least he beat Snoop and Fat Joe. Fat Joe album isnt that bad. He has good beats but his baby lyrics kills me on every track.

Go buy that Rick Ross Trilla album, its a classic. I havent heard that Snoop album and dont plan on giving it any spins after he said he didnt write Sensual Seduction. He says he doesnt sees it as a problem when R&B artist have people write their songs all the time. I dont think thats a good reason to justify you not having it in you no more.

Album Sales

Alicia Keys took back the #1 spot this week, in her off-again, on-again reign, weathering each week's new additions. Ms. Keys was joined by Rock outfits The Mars Volta and Bullet For My Valentine, who held #3 and #4 respectively, after The Juno Soundtrack. Keyshia Cole gained over 17% in sales since last week, bumping Chris Brown and getting a strong surge of Interscope energy. Lupe Fiasco fell from the Top 5 overall urban artists for the first week since his release. G.O.O.D. Music crooner John Legend joins the charts with his live album, closing out the caption with a #27 spot.

Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
Rank Artist Album This Week Total
1 Alicia Keys As I Am 61,259 --2,907,459
6 Mary J Blige Growing Pains 47,219 --1,132,462
8 Keyshia Cole Just Like You 36,412 --1,095,743
11 Chris Brown Exclusive 33,311 --1,059,331
27 John Legend Live From Philly 20,117 --70,158

As predicted, a new single pushed Soulja Boy back into the mix, as the prodigy pushes for a platinum plaque by spring. The 17-year-old bumped ahead of Lupe in doing so. Birdman also climbed ahead of mainstays Jay-Z and Kanye West despite lacking the initial sales of his super-star peers.

Other Notables…
Rank Artist Album This Week Total
31 Soulja Boy Souljaboytellem.com 18,899 --745,968
44 Lupe Fiasco The Cool 15,841 --302,052
57 Birdman 5*Stunna 12,807 --246,196
61 Jay-Z American Gangster 12,092 --965,368
63 Kanye West Graduation 12,011 --1,970,212