Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/20/2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/20/2010

June 23, 2010 08:00:00 AM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

As many experts predicted, Drake is the latest Rap artist to achieve a #1 debut. The Young Money/Cash Money rapper's "official" first album, Thank Me Later edged out Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' latest by a margin of over 320,000 units. The Toronto born rapper's album was just over 50,000 short of a gold debut, as predicted by HitsDailyDouble.com. Thank Me Later features appearances by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, T.I. and Young Jeezy. The bulk of the album's production is handled by Drake's longtime producer Boi-1da, who may get back-to-back #1's, with next week's Eminem Recovery album.


Usher's Raymond v. Raymond fell one spot to #13. The veteran Pop entertainer's "divorce album" is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records.



Spots #17 through #19 were taken by B.o.B., Plies and The Black Eyed Peas respectively. The Adventures of Bobby Ray will be officially over halfway to a gold plaque next week, while the year-old E.N.D. aims at possibly reaching triple platinum. Goon Affiliated pushes its way towards 100,000 sold for the Florida sensation.


* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.



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



Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

1

Drake

Thank Me Later

447,000

447,000



13

Usher Raymond v. Raymond

29,000

850,000



17

B.o.B. Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray 20,000

249,000



18

Plies

Goon Affiliated

20,000

76,000



19

Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. 19,000

2,609,000



Damian Marley & Nas' Distant Relatives slid to #37. The Universal Republic/Def Jam Records collaborative release has garnered huge critical acclaim in the Rap community for its rich commentary on the parallel relationship between Hip Hop and Reggae. Lil Wayne, K'Naan, Dennis Brown and Joss Stone appear on the work produced by Damian and brother Stephen. Meanwhile, Ludacris gained two notches with Battle of the Sexes.


One of the bigger surprises for the week was Gorillaz' Plastic Beach. Having been out nearly four months, the Virgin Records release climbed 59 spots on the chart. The surge is perhaps due to the third single "Rhinstone Eyes" reaching Rock radio rotation. The album includes appearances by Mos Def, De La Soul and Snoop Dogg. Drake also gained 18 spots with his retail mixtape, So Far Gone. The 2009 free mixtape-turned-album sits 15,000 away from gold certification, making Drake likely to receive two plaques in the same month.
Lil Jon fell another 50-plus spots with his Crunk Rock. After a poor debut week, the So So Def deejay-turned-Crunk star's album delays may have impacted his popularity, as well as a label change to Universal Republic.




Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

37

Nas & Damian Marley

Distant Relatives

11,000

125,000



39

Ludacris

Battle of the Sexes

11,000

462,000



51

Gorillaz Plastic Beach

7,800

282,000



76

Drake

So Far Gone

6,100

485,000



112

Lil Jon

Crunk Rock

4,700

14,000



From HipHopDX.com

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11539/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-20-2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/13/2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/13/2010
June 16, 2010 08:57:00 AM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

Four of the Top 5 charting releases last week were debuts. More Glee and Twilight fanfare topped the charts, while Christina Aguilera's latest album, Bionic came in at #3. While the Pittsburgh Pop songstress worked with Gang Starr's DJ Premier and Kwamé on her 2006 album, this one features board work from Polow Da Don and Dr. Dre's Aftermath protege Focus... At #5 came Plies, with his fourth album in three years, Goon Affiliated. The 33 year-old Florida rapper's latest sold less than half first week units of what his 2008 album, Da REAList did. Goon Affiliated features Def Jam stars Young Jeezy and Fabolous, and production from popular deejay/radio personality, Clinton Sparks.







Usher's Raymond v. Raymond fell out of the Top 10 to #12. The veteran Pop entertainer's "divorce album" is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records. Just behind, The Black Eyed Peas and their nearly year-old E.N.D. were at #15, gaining two spots, and remain a potential consistent climber in this sales drought.



B.o.B. Presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray fell eight spots to #21. The Rebel Rock sensation inches to 250,000 units, making him the most successful Atlantic Records Rap release in over six months, including label vet Plies.



Travie McCoy (once known as "Travis") of Gym Class Heroes received a Top 30 debut. His album, taken from his middle name, Lazarus, was released through his own Fueled By Ramen imprint. The 12-track collection features two appearances by T-Pain, as well as DXnext alum Colin Munroe and Cee-Lo.





* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.



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



Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

5

Plies

Goon Affiliated

56,000

56,000



12

Usher Raymond v. Raymond

30,000

821,000



15

Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. 21,000

2,590,000



21

B.o.B. Presents

The Adventures of Bobby Ray

17,000

228,000



27

Travie McCoy

Lazarus 15,000

15,000



Damian Marley & Nas' Distant Relatives fell 14 spots to #32. The Universal Republic/Def Jam Records collaborative release has garnered huge critical acclaim in the Rap community for its rich commentary on the parallel relationship between Hip Hop and Reggae. Lil Wayne, K'Naan, Dennis Brown and Joss Stone appear on the work produced by Damian and brother Stephen.



Ludacris slid nine spots to #41 with Battle of the Sexes. Earlier this week, Def Jam confirmed the album had achieved a gold plaque, though the 500,000 mark is still well short domestically.





One of the week's bigger surprises came courtesy of Lil Jon's Crunk Rock. Now a label-mate with Distant Relatives at Universal Republic, the king of Crunk failed to crack the 10,000 units sold mark, barely cracking the Top 50. The album, nearly four years in the making, features Ice Cube, Game, Soulja Boy and Pitbull. The performance comes after a very long dispute Jon had with former label, TVT.







Having remixed tracks by Notorious B.I.G., Young Buck and Anti-Pop Consortium, Brooklyn duo Ratatat may be best known for Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" appearance and production. The duo's aptly-titled fourth album, LP4. The XL Recordings release features no guests.



Lastly, Strange Music's Kutt Calhoun cracked the charts with his Raw and Un-Kut album. The Kansas City Rap veteran's third album features Too Short, Joe Budden and E-40, as well as label-mates Tech N9ne and Brotha Lynch Hung.



Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

32

Nas & Damian Marley

Distant Relatives

13,000

113,000



41

Ludacris

Battle of the Sexes

11,000

452,000



48

Lil Jon Crunk Rock

8,900

8,900



66

Ratatat

LP4

6,600

6,700



145

Kutt Calhoun

Raw and Un-Kut

3,500

3,500

From HipHopDX.com
 
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11493/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-13-2010

Plies Sued Over 2006 Shooting

Plies Sued Over 2006 Shooting
March 04, 2010 12:44:00 AM CST | by Slava Kuperstein

Five victims of a 2006 Gainesville, Florida shooting are suing rapper Plies, along with his record label.

According to the Miami Herald, the suit, which was filed on Wednesday (March 3) in Alachua County Circuit Court, claims that Plies and his label have profited from the victims' suffering.

Plies was previously sued over the incident, in which members of his entourage allegedly fired into a sold-out crowd.

The rapper's brother, Ronell Lavatte, and a member of the entourage, Tory Carnegie, are said to have fired into the crowd. The two were charged with attempted murder. Levatte served three years in prison after pleading no contest to weapons charges.

More on this story as it develops.

From HipHopDX.com

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10759/title.plies-sued-over-2006-shooting

Young Jeezy Finds His "Motivation," Announces Release Date For New Album

News: Young Jeezy Finds His "Motivation," Announces Release Date For New Album
Wednesday, Mar 3, 2010 11:50AM

Written by Rosario Harper

Southern rapper Young Jeezy has announced plans to release his upcoming album Thug Motivation 103 this summer.

Jeezy recently explained how he snagged Plies for the project's first single, "Lose My Mind,".

"To keep it all the way 100 with you, we did a record called 'So Sad,' " Jeezy said about how he got with Plies. "Before I could put it out, the record leaked, so we was good on that. Then I was gonna do a record for him [for his album]. I did the record, by the way, but I had 'Lose My Mind.' I done three verses. I listened to it a couple of times. I said, 'Let me try something. I'mma put somebody on the record.' I was doing a joint for him at the time and happened to see him. We was doing something for [NBA] All-Star [Weekend]. I was like, 'Yo, I'mma get you this record, see if you like it.' He sent it right back. I went with it. Just to warm up the streets, let them know I'm coming." Young said his album will drop sometime in June. And, of course, we'll get his mixtape, Trap or Die 2 with DJ Drama, sometime before that. (MTV)
Earlier this year, Jeezy said he had not yet settled on a release date for the new album.

"Oh man, sooner than later," Jeezy said about the album's release date last January. "I'm finishing up now, wrapping up now. I was just in the studio 15 minutes ago. Shout-outs to the homie Swizz [Beatz]. [We're] doing some of everything. You know Swizz will keep you up all night. [We did] like two and half [songs.] Look for the album asap." ("Ed Lover Show")
Reports last year suggested it would come out in February.

Word is this came from the back of a ticket for an All-American High School football game that will be held on January 2nd which Jeezy is scheduled to perform at half-time. "Jeezy TM103 in stores February 9th This ticket is a revocable license, which may be withdrawn, and admission refused anytime upon refunding the printed purchase price." (You Heard That New)
Last August, Jeezy updated fans on the record's status.

"I have some new producers I'm going to introduce to the world," Jeezy promised. "I like to set trends. I'm going to keep those names in the bag. I want it to be a big deal when you first hear them. There will be a few of the producers I worked from Thug Motivation 101 and The Recession such as Shawty Redd and Midnight Black. I'm just working, man. I'm not really picky when it comes to the production. I just like good music...I have the studio bus and the whole nine. I was already working on it, so I was where I wanted to be on the new album before I left. I recorded most of it at the crib in Atlanta. I'm just putting the icing on the cake, now. I'm going to do the rest on the road and just knock it out. The album will be out sooner than later...I'm going to take my time. That's what the label people tell me. "Yo, hurry up, but take your time, because we want that sh*t to be right.' Soon as my stuff jump off the stove I'm going to put it in the streets." (The Boom Box)
No further details have been released as of now.

From SOHH.com

http://www.sohh.com/2010/03/young_jeezy_finds_his_motivation_announc.html