Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/11/2010
April 14, 2010 10:04:00 AM CDT | by Allen Jacobs
After the first week of April shaking up the charts, last week was more about releases settling into place. Usher gave up his #1 to Justin Bieber, as divorce ode Raymond v. Raymond adjusted comfortably at #2, losing by a margin of 10,000. The LaFace Records project could likely touch gold next Wednesday, with a strong third week outing.
Monica held #6 for a third straight week with her Still Standing. The J Records artist crossed the 250,000 mark, with an album that features production from Missy Elliott and Jim Jonsin. Monica's Atlanta neighbor Ludacris, who appears on Still Standing, also crossed the 250,000 mark Battle of the Sexes. The DTP/Def Jam release also held his #11 spot from the week before.
Erykah Badu slid five spots to #9 with her acclaimed "part two" release in her New Amerykah series. The championed follow-up maintains her production roster Hip Hop-based luminaries such as 9th Wonder, Madlib, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Georgia Anne Muldrow and the late J. Dilla.
The Black Eyed Peas budged to the #13 spot with The E.N.D. The release is soon to turn a year old, having already found double-platinum domestic status for the veteran Interscope Records group.
* 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
2
Usher
Raymond v. Raymond
92,000
422,000
6
Monica
Still Standing
38,000
304,000
9
Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Part Two
30,000
140,000
11
Ludacris
Battle of the Sexes
26,000
310,000
13
Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
25,000
2,411,000
Lil Wayne took his Rebirth to gold this past week. The experimental Auto-Tune-heavy release crossed the 500,000 unit mark domestically, making it a rapper's first 2010 release to do so. Currently serving on Rikers Island in New York, Wayne has yet to release a statement on the benchmark.
Wu-Tang Clan member trio Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Raekwon's Wu-Massacre fell 25 places to #37. Crossing the 50,000 unit mark next week, the warmly-received project features special packaging and production from RZA and Mathematics.
E-40 had three chart entries last week. The double-packaging of Revenue Retrievin' left the Top 200 this week, and Revenue Retrievin' Night Shift pulled in front of Revenue Retrievin' Day Shift , the inverse of last week's results. Between both releases (at #100 and #108 respectively), the Vallejo veteran sold nearly 10,000 units last week.
On their descent from the charts, two former adversaries almost shared chart real estate last week. In his Interscope departure, 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct is stretching to reach gold. The G-Unit release came in at #188, while Terror Squad deejay, Khaled carried his E1 release Victory past the 50,000 mark. The release has cracked radio with the Snoop Dogg-assisted southern anthem "All I Do Is Win."
The 18th album from Too Short, Still Blowin', did not crack the Top 200.
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
25
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
15,000
505,000
37
Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon Wu Massacre
11,000
49,000
100
E-40
Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift
5,000
17,000
188
50 Cent
Before I Self Destruct
2,500
436,000
194
DJ Khaled
Victory
2,400
52,000
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11035/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-4-11-2010
Lil Wayne Reports To Riker's Island For Sentence
March 08, 2010 03:03:00 PM CST | by Allen Jacobs
Lil Wayne was sentenced today (March 8th) after two delayed events. The Cash Money/Young Money platinum super-star had avoided sentencing last month for a dental emergency, followed by a Manhattan courthouse fire last week. AllHipHop.com has reported that Wayne is arriving at New York's Riker's Island this afternoon.
Wayne is expected to serve eight months from a .40 caliber gun and marijuana possession conviction stemming from a tour base search in 2007 while the rapper was on tour in Manhattan. The rapper was taken in handcuffs from court room to the prison where Styles P, Foxy Brown and Shyne have all served time
Many speculate that Wayne will remain in protective custody while in the prison, though officials have yet to confirm. While he is incarcerated, Mack Maine is expected to have a controlling hand at Young Money Records. The label will release Drake's Thank Me Later during that period.
This past weekend, a video to Wayne's Eminem-assisted Rebirth track "Drop The World" released.
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10790/title.lil-wayne-reports-to-rikers-island-for-sentence
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
Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/21/2010
February 24, 2010 11:02:00 PM CST | by Allen Jacobs
Sade defended her #1 turf for a second straight 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 Nigerian-born singer also owned her spot by a margin of nearly 50,000 units.
The Black Eyed Peas have impressed the charts for close to nine months. Still, the group's return to #3 suggests that their June of 2009 Interscope Records release The E.N.D. isn't anywhere close to losing momentum. 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. Later this year, will.i.am and his label are going to be releasing Kelis' first album since her highly-publicized split with Nas.
Lil Wayne's Rebirth may reach gold before the New Orleans-born super-star sees jail-time. The Cash Money/Universal Motown release remains in the Top 5, as Wayne suggests that a video will surface within a month of his collaboration with Eminem for "Drop The World" . With radio support for that as a single, Rebirth could have platinum potential.
Two R&B acts closed out the Top 10 last week. Alicia Keys' Element Of Freedom readies for a new single and perhaps more traction while Jaheim's Another Round heads towards 200,000 units. The 31 year-old New Jersey native's album features Jadakiss on the "Ain't Leavin' Without You (Remix)" from his fifth album.
* 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
190,000
694,000
3 Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
65,000
2,131,000
5
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
58,000
324,000
7
Alicia Keys
Element of Freedom
39,000
1,078,000
8
Jaheim
Another Round
36,000
148,000
Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 and Eminem's Relapse both remained in the Top 50 for another week. Jay-Z already began speaking about his next album, reportedly his first with Sony Records, last week.
Freeway & Jake One's The Stimulus Package entered the charts at #61. 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.
Gold Dust/K7 Records released a compilation of largely recycled and alternate tracks from various Wu-Tang Clan members. All produced by longtime Method Man deejay and "Mighty Healthy" producer Mathematics, Return of the Wu & Friends was a notable appearance from the label home to Zion I, Soul Asssasins and Crown City Rockers. The compilation, which includes rare work from Ol' Dirty Bastard, scanned nearly 3,500 first week units on the indie.
New Orleans Funk/Jazz outfit Galactic's eighth album Ya Ka May fell 48 spots to close out the Top 200. The Anti Records group told DX that they are soon to be at work on a full length album with former Jurassic 5 emcee Chali 2na.
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
32
Jay-Z Blueprint 3
16,000
1,631,000
45
Eminem Relapse
14,000
1,853,000
61
Freeway & Jake One
The Stimulus Package
9,000
9,100
163
Mathematics
Return of the Wu & Friends
3,400
3,400
200
Galactic
Ya-Ka-May
2,700
7,800
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10702/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-2-21-2010
Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/14/2010
February 17, 2010 03:02:00 PM CST | by Allen Jacobs
Sade soldiered through with her Soldier Of Love. The 51 year-old Nigerian singer not only debuted at #1, but she scanned over 500,000 first week domestic units. The Sony release, her first album in a decade shocked the charts this week, as Sade is still getting radio adds and doing limited press. The Soul/Jazz vocalist is said to be appearing on Drake's Thank Me Later later this year, her first Rap album appearance since 2001's "Hard Time Hustlin'" with Krayzie Bone.
Split between bumped Country/Pop act Lady Antebellum, another R&B star debuted at #3. Atlantic Records' Jaheim's Another Round performed strongly, selling over 100,000 copies. The 31 year-old New Jersey native's album features Jadakiss on the "Ain't Leavin' Without You (Remix)" from his fifth album.
Lil Wayne's Rebirth sold under 100,000 second-week units. The Cash Money/Universal Motown artist will remain a free man from a postponed sentencing to Riker's Island Correctional Facility, but Wayne's limited in marketing the Rock-inspired album largely produced by Cool & Dre.
The Black Eyed Peas are officially double platinum. The E.N.D. just introduced a new single, "Imma Be Rocking That Body," as Interscope may find a new one-two punch to go along with Eminem in Rap/Pop sales. Alicia Keys' Element Of Freedom also officially crossed the platinum mark, which all three of her previous albums have done.
* 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
502,000
503,000
3 Jaheim
Another Round
112,000
112,000
4
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
89,000
265,000
8
Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
67,000
2,066,000
12
Alicia Keys
Element of Freedom
40,000
1,039,000
Lil Wayne and teammates' We Are Young Money crossed the 300,000 line. The album, along with Rebirth, will likely remain on the charts through to Drake's Thank Me Later, presently due in April or May.
Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 and Eminem's Relapse both remained in the Top 50. Both releases have double-platinum aspirations, particularly Jay-Z's one-album distribution deal with Atlantic Records, who's biggest star, T.I., was unable to release a 2009 album due to his jail sentence.
Two Rap-related releases cracked the charts last week. New Orleans Funk/Jazz outfit Galactic's eighth album Ya Ka May debuted at #152. The Anti Records group has frequently worked with The Coup, and may have a full-length on the way with a Jurassic 5 member. HipHopDX will report more on that this month. Poet/singer and Rap pioneer Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here sold just under 4,000 debut week units. The XL Records album features Kanye West soundbeds, as well as some public support from Mos Def.
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
41
Young Money
We Are Young Money
20,000
311,000
43
Jay-Z Blueprint 3
19,000
1,615,000
48
Eminem
Relapse
16,000
1,840,000
142
Galactic
Ya-Ka-May
4,900
5,100
181
Gil Scott-Heron
I'm New Here
3,700
3,900
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10652/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-2-14-2010
Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/7/2010
February 10, 2010 09:02:00 AM CST | by Allen Jacobs
Lil Wayne's Rebirth sold an impressive 175,000 debut week units. The Cash Money/Universal Motown project benefited from Wayne being in headlines for both his (now postponed) jail sentence, but also being one of the celebrity faces to the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl victory in Miami. Weezy F.'s Auto-Tune heavy Rock experiment with Cool & Dre could not budge Country/Pop act Lady Antebellum's Need You Now, who assumed #1 for a second straight week. Numerous radio stations yesterday were doing special Young Money dedications to honor Wayne's reporting to Riker's Island. Next week will show if that gave Rebirth any chance of a second run at #1.
With The 2010 Grammy Awards on Sunday, the charts reflected a who's who of nominees. For starters, Capitol Records' compilation of nominees, which included The Black Eyed Peas, bounced back to #5. Those same Peas are within a thousand units sold to take The E.N.D. to double-platinum. The release likely crossed that mark Monday or Tuesday, though Interscope Records has yet to confirm.
Michael Jackson's This Is It fell six spots on the charts. The Epic Records soundtrack companion to the summer film surged 11 spots. Alicia Keys' Element Of Freedom and Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce battled it out on the charts. The two were less than 600 units apart, as a rounded figure shows that Keys will see her latest platinum plaque as of next week's review. J Records has yet to confirm.
* 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
2
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
176,000
176,000
5 Various Artists
2010 Grammy Nominees
71,000
165,000
6
Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
70,000
1,999,000
11
Michael Jackson's
This Is It
35,000
1,439,000
13
Alicia Keys
Element of Freedom
34,000
1,000,000
Lil Wayne and teammates' We Are Young Money still are short of 300,000. As predicted, the charts boasted numerous Young Money/Cash Money acts, including Rebirth, We Are Young Money, Jay Sean's debut, Birdman's latest, Drake's EP, and even former Hot Boy Juvenile.
Although numbers were tallied prior to his Super Bowl pre-game performance Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 saw an excellent week in sales growth. The Atlantic Records-distributed break from Def Jam climbed 10 spaces. Eminem's Relapse climbed seven spots, as the release aims to go double platinum by mid-March.
Drake's So Far Gone EP was just barely out of Top 50. The fall debut release approaches 400,000, and remains Drake's starting point, with a gold plaque likely in sight. 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct gained 17 spots last week. This could be another album, that with radio support of a new single, could reach gold status by early spring.
Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
28
Young Money
We Are Young Money
21,000
291,000
30
Jay-Z Blueprint 3
19,000
1,597,000
34
Eminem
Relapse
18,000
1,824,000
53
Drake
So Far Gone
12,000
369,000
69
50 Cent
Before I Self Destruct
8,500
387,000
Despite hope from some, neither powerful east coast deejay, Statik Selektah, nor DJ Green Lantern cracked the charts with debut albums last week.
From HipHopDX.com
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.10597/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-2-7-2010
News: UPDATE: Lil Wayne's "Rebirth" Summer Release Date Disputed
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 6:03PM
Written by Rosario Harper
After initial reports of Lil Wayne's Rebirth being pushed to summer 2010, the rapper's record company has said the rock project will be released as scheduled.
According to Universal Motown, Rebirth will be released next month.
Lil Wayne's Rebirth has seen constant delays over the past year, but for once, the album is not being pushed back. Contrary to reports that it had been moved to June, the rapper's oft-delayed foray into rock is still scheduled for release on February 2, Universal Motown confirms to Rap-Up.com. Exactly one week later on February 9, Wayne is likely to be sentenced and report to prison for almost a year on gun charges. (Rap-Up)
Reports earlier this week showed the album coming out in June.
Amazon accidentally shipped a small number of Lil Wayne pre-orders, and now, the Rebirth album is nowhere to be found on the site. The pre-order is also unavailable on the iTunes Store, though the first-run version is totally available through unauthorized online channels. Meanwhile, Walmart is listing the release date as June 22nd. The earlier consensus was that Rebirth would finally emerge during the first quarter. (Digital Music News)
The album was also believed to be coming out sometime in the first quarter of 2010.
Neither the crew album nor the experimental passion project has a proud commercial legacy in hip-hop. But for Rebirth, at least, Lil Wayne's label had sizable expectations. According to Billboard, around one million copies were printed, one-third of which were distributed to retailers. (Lil Wayne's last album, Tha Carter III, has been certified triple platinum, meaning three million copies were shipped.) For 500 or so fans, the physical CD of the original Rebirth is a collectible. For the untold thousands who downloaded the album's songs free, they're just grist for the mill, placeholders until something else comes along, preferably better. According to a representative for Universal Motown Records, a new version of Rebirth is now slated to be released in the first quarter of 2010. (New York Times)
Despite the project initially being pushed to February, early copies were released late last year.
About 500 Amazon customers who pre-ordered the album are enjoying the record already, thanks to a shipping mishap. According to sources and an e-mail to Billboard from an Amazon customer, the online merchant sent copies of the album to some customers who pre-ordered "Rebirth." The album began arriving in mailboxes on Monday, Dec. 14, despite a change in the street date from Dec. 21 to February 1. Although Amazon received the word to return the Lil Wayne album, supposedly about 500 copies were sent to customers. An Amazon spokesman didn't respond to an e-mail request for a comment. (Billboard)
From SOHH.com
http://www.sohh.com/2010/01/update_lil_waynes_rebirth_summer_release.html
