Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/28/2010
March 03, 2010 10:03:00 AM CST | by Allen Jacobs
Sade battled off Lady Antebellum for another week to maintain her #1 spot for a third week with Soldier Of Love. With more television appearances coming, the veteran Jazz/Soul vocalists is enjoying a comeback after nearly a decade hiatus. Her Epic Records project is also a celebrated success to the label who's biggest enjoyment last year was a posthumous Michael Jackson compilation. The 51 year-old singer is likely to reach platinum by month's end.
The Black Eyed Peas enjoyed their 38th week on the charts. The group fell one spot of their Interscope Records release The E.N.D. Already at double platinum, a new video "Imma Be Rocking That Body," has will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo and Apl.De.Ap staying as close to the top of the charts as they've been in months. will.i.am will soon be working on Usher's Raymond v. Raymond.
Lil Wayne's Rebirth slipped one spot too, as Wayne suggests that a video will surface within a month of his collaboration with Eminem for "Drop The World" . With radio support and Wayne remaining free indefinitely, Rebirth could have platinum potential. Alicia Keys' Element Of Freedom fell out of the Top 10 last week. The platinum release was rivaled in week sales by Rihanna's dark outcry, Rated R.
* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
1
Sade
Soldier Of Love
127,000
820,000
4 Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
50,000
2,181,000
6
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
38,000
361,000
13
Alicia Keys
Element of Freedom
24,000
1,102,000
14
Rihanna
Rated R
24,000
688,000
Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 and Eminem's Relapse remain cemented on the Top 200, with 25 and 41 weeks on the chart respectively. Jay-Z already began speaking about his next album, reportedly his first with Sony Records, two weeks ago.
50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct has crossed the 400,000 mark and heads towards platinum in what appears to be his final Interscope album after a tremendous eight year run. Close behind, Drake hopes to take his debut EP, So Far Gone to 400,000 next week, which remains groundbreaking for an album that few people are recognizing as "official," based on its free download beginnings.
Freeway & Jake One's The Stimulus Package fell nearly 100 places between its debut and sophomore week. Free's first "official" independent album, this on the Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers label was supported with a whole album's worth of production from Seattle's most prolific producer, Jake One. The album features guest appearances from Beanie Sigel, Young Chris, Raekwon and Freeway's latest label employer, Birdman. More videos from the project are expected soon, though radio has not embraced the independent project.
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
37
Jay-Z Blueprint 3
13,000
1,645,000
52
Eminem Relapse
11,000
1,864,000
63
50 Cent
Before I Self Destruct
8,400
411,100
78
Drake
So Far Gone
7,100
394,000
158
Freeway & Jake One
The Stimulus Package
3,500
13,000
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10753/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-2-28-2010
Jay-Z Talks New Videos And Possibility Of A New Album
February 20, 2010 12:02:00 PM CST | by Krysten Hughes
While at the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, rapper Jay-Z talked to MTV about his upcoming plans to shoot more music videos for Blueprint 3 and the possibility of a new album.
"I wanna shoot 'Venus vs. Mars'. I may shoot two. I shot 'Run This Town' [and 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune)']. I been shooting two at the same time. I'll probably shoot 'Venus' and maybe 'A Star Is Born.' But I definitely wanna shoot 'Venus'. I got an amazing concept in my mind."
Jay also talked about "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" with Rihanna and members of U2 performed for the "Hope For Haiti Now" telethon. "The number is ridiculous as far as the [money generated by the Hope For Haiti Now] album. I'm excited about the whole effort we put into the telethon. It's helping real people through a real tough time, and we'll just move on from there."
Blueprint 3 will not be his last album. Jay is already talking about ideas and tracks for a new album. "I didn't really start yet. I got a couple of scraps and I got a couple of ideas. I didn't really go into the studio yet. I've been toying with ideas and direction and things like that", he added, "I got one crazy record. To be honest with you, it's crazy. I got one and we'll build from there. Whether it comes out this year or next year, it depends on the music and how it's coming out. I don't really have any dates."
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10679/title.jay-z-talks-new-videos-and-possibility-of-a-new-album
President Obama Tells Jay-Z He Loves BP3
Friday, February 19, 2010 11:58 AM
By Ismael AbduSalaam
(AllHipHop News) Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 album has received its biggest endorsement via President Barack Obama. In a recent interview with BBC One, Jay-Z disclosed that the President loved the LP and was playing it during their recent phone conversation.
“Barack loves Hip-Hop, when I called him he was playing Blueprint in the gym,” he explained. “I've been invited to the White House a couple of times. Hopefully we'll keep him in for 8 years so I'll have time to get there."
Obama has been a self-admitted Hip-Hop fan for years, and first met Jay-Z in 2008 as part of his goal to help emcees use their art to spark critical thinking and bridge generational rifts.
Also, the then U.S. senator was hopeful to see Hip-Hop artists as a whole move away from the misogyny and materialistic slant that’s gripped the art form’s mainstream in recent years.
“I've met with Jay-Z, I've met with Kanye [West]. And I've talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking [is great],"Obama told BET on the special What’s In It For Us? “There are times, even on the artists I've named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that's sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I'm really concerned about is they're always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars.”
Jay-Z acknowledged the Hip-Hop nation’s potential political power, but rejected the notion that artists should tone down their messages. Instead, he insisted that artists have a responsibility to speak on the uncomfortable truths of society, and not relegate their art to propaganda.
"Sometimes there are hard truths in rap, they're not packaged with pretty ribbons. Sometimes the realities of the situations are harsh and they need to be told,” Jay reasoned to the BBC. “We're the poets of our generation! Those truths and those honesties need to be told and sometimes that will rub people the wrong way but that don't mean you don't tell them. I think when rap is done brilliantly it can inform you of a problem, things that are going on."
Even as the pro-Obama Hip-Hop songs slowed following the President’s January 2009 inauguration, Jay-Z has remained one of his strongest supporters.
The Brooklyn native spoke favorably of Obama throughout Blueprint 3, including the songs “What We Talkin’ About,” “On to the Next One,” and “Reminder.”
Today (February 19), President Obama will hold a town hall meeting at Nevada’s Henderson high school, followed by speaking engagements at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
From AllHipHop.com
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/02/19/22129788.aspx
