Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/18/2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/18/2010

July 22, 2010 10:05:00 AM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

Eminem's Recovery will not budge from #1. While Drake's Thank Me Later bumped one spot to #3, Em fell just short of 1.5 million units cleared. Drake's So Far Gone finally crossed the 500,000 mark, giving the Rap sensation a gold plaque on both of his retail releases - and another from his role on We Are Young Money.







M.I.A. snagged a Top 10 debut with her latest, /\/\/\Y/\. Albeit titled poorly for Internet search engines, the Rap-friendly Electro-Pop princess went even more political with her latest Interscope release.



Outkast's Big Boi fell 11 spots to #14. The Atlanta Hip Hop pioneer is 10,000+ units shy of the six-figure mark with his critically-acclaimed Def Jam debut, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. The release features artists such as T.I., Gucci Mane and Too Short, with production from Organized Noize, Scott Storch and Lil Jon. Big Boi's new label-mate, The-Dream, fell eight units to #12 with Love-King.



Usher's Raymond v. Raymond maintained Top 20. The veteran Pop entertainer's "divorce album" is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records.





* 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

Eminem

Recovery

195,000

1,482,000



3

Drake Thank Me Later

50,000

833,000



9

M.I.A.

/\/\/\Y/\

28,000

29,000



14

Big Boi

Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

26,000

89,000



20

Usher


Raymond v. Raymond
18,000

935,000



Former Young Money and No Limit Records artist Curren$y found a Top 40 debut with his Def Jam-distributed Pilot Talk. Produced by Reasonable Doubt architect Ski Beatz, and featuring Mos Def and Jay Electronica, the New Orleans emcee cleared over 10,000 first week units.







Two new chart appearances came courtesy of Paul Wall's latest, Heart of A Champion. The Swishahouse/Warner Brothers/Asylum release featured surprise collaborations courtesy of Jay Electronica, Raekwon and Kid Sister. The release fell just shy of a Top 50 debut. Meanwhile, despite critical acclaim, Capone-N-Noreaga's War Report 2 fought to stay in the Top 100. Executive produced by Raekwon, the EMI-distributed project features Nas, Busta Rhymes and several personnel carry-overs from CNN's acclaimed 1997 first War Report.



Florida rapper Plies found the 100,000 mark with his Atlantic Records' Goon Affiliated album. This is the fourth album from Plies to cross that benchmark.



Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

38

Curren$y


Pilot Talk
11,000

11,000



56

Paul Wall

Heart of A Champion

7,600

7,600



98

Capone-N-Noreaga

The War Report 2

4,600

4,700



111

Plies

Goon Affiliated

4,000

103,000



146

Drake

So Far Gone

3,300

500,000

From HipHopDX.com
 
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11766/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-7-18-2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/4/2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/4/2010

July 07, 2010 09:42:00 AM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

Eminem's Recovery came in for a second strong helping of sales, carrying the Interscope/Aftermath release past the million mark in its second week. This release features appearances by Pop acts such as Rihanna and P!nk, as well as production from Just Blaze, Boi-1da and Mobb Deep's Havoc.



Meanwhile, Drake heads towards his own seven-figure sales mark with Thank Me Later. The Toronto rapper cleared 700,000 units, while his 2009 retail mixtape So Far Gone sits less than 10,000 units away from selling 500,000 overall. That feat is expected to be accomplished later this month, making Drake second to only Lil Wayne in his Universal Motown earning abilities for a post-2007 Rap artist.


Def Jam Records had a promising week on the charts. R&B songwriting sensation The-Dream debuted at #4 with Love-King. The North Carolina singer/writer/producer's third album in his Love series is short on guests, featuring only T.I., but scanned over 50,000 units. The Roots remained Top 20 with their latest, How I Got Over is their third with Def Jam Records. The album shows the group's first "Jimmy Fallon-era" recordings, garnering critical acclaim. The group was home over 4th of July weekend, performing a free concert for their Philadelphia brothers and sisters.



Usher's Raymond v. Raymond remained at #14. The veteran Pop entertainer's "divorce album" is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records.



* 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

Eminem

Recovery

313,000

1,058,000



2

Drake Thank Me Later

105,000

709,000



4

The-Dream

Love King

58,000

59,000



14

Usher

Raymond v. Raymond

24,000

898,000



17

The Roots

How I Got Over

21,000

72,000



Detroit singer Dwele struck a Top 30 debut with his E1 Entertainment-released W.ants W.orld W.omen. The man responsible for assisting two monster Kanye West singles ("Power" and "Flashing Lights") has a new album that features Slum Village, David Banner and DJ Quik. Dwele is presently on tour, before reportedly appearing on SV's new album next month.



Two non-traditional Rap acts cracked the charts for a second week. 116 Clique's Trip Lee has released Between Two Worlds, which has scanned just under 8,000 units. The Philadelphia-by-way-of-Dallas native has released his third album through Reach Records. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Romeo, Michigan rapper Blaze Ya Dead Homie achieved chart success with his fourth album Gang Rangs. Released on the Insane Clown Posse's Psychopathic Records, this release features veteran Michigan gangsta rappers The Dayton Family, as well as Kottonmouth Kings.



Z-Ro's Heroin stayed on the charts for a second week. The Rap-A-Lot Records' unsung hero cleared 6,000 units, despite limited promotion and distribution. Meanwhile, sitting at over 499,500 units sold, Young Money's We Are Young Money joins Lil Wayne's Rebirth and Drake's Thank Me Later as the third release from Lil Wayne's label to go gold this year. Although the official announcement will likely be made this week, the release will soon be followed by another gold plaque from So Far Gone, giving the Cash Money umbrella four 2010 gold plaques, and likely one platinum.



Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total

28

Dwele

W.ants W.orld W.omen

14,000

14,000



107

Trip Lee

Between Two Worlds

4,400

7,900



134

Young Money

We Are Young Money

3,800

500,000



193

Blaze Ya Dead Homie

Gang Rags

2,600

11,100



198

Z-Ro

Heroin

2,500

6,600

From HipHopDX.com
 
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11648/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-7-4-2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/27/2010

June 30, 2010 12:00:00 PM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

As predicted, Eminem's Recovery was the strongest Rap debut in nearly two years. The Interscope/Aftermath release sold roughly three quarters of a million units in its first week. Driven by several televised appearances at the BET Awards, The Late Show and others, Marshall Mathers' greatly outsold last year's Relapse opening, by approximately 80,000 units.



This release features appearances by Pop acts such as Rihanna and P!nk, as well as production from Just Blaze, Boi-1da and Mobb Deep's Havoc.







Drake sealed his gold, clearing 600,000 units and standing strong at #2. 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 have had the most successful back-to-back weeks as a Rap producer in years.



The Roots' came in at #6. Their latest release, How I Got Over is their third with Def Jam Records. The album shows the group's first "Jimmy Fallon-era" recordings, garnering critical acclaim. The release features appearances from Blu, Phonte Coleman and longtime affiliate Dice Raw.



Usher's Raymond v. Raymond fell one spot to #14. The veteran Pop entertainer's "divorce album" is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records. B.o.B. closed out the Top 20 with The Adventures of Bobby Ray. The Atlantic Records star's rookie release marches towards the 400,000 mark achieved by Drake and Kid Cudi, having already bypassed Wale's sales last year.





* 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

Eminem

Recovery

741,000

744,000



2

Drake Thank Me Later

157,000

604,000



6

The Roots

How I Got Over

51,000

51,000



14

Usher

Raymond v. Raymond

24,000

874,000



20

B.o.B. Presents

The Adventures of Bobby Ray

19,000

268,000



Damian Marley & Nas' Distant Relatives slid to #43. 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.



Eminem and Drake both watched their already-charting previous releases sell - but not to their plaque benchmarks. Drake's mixtape-turned-album, So Far Gone sits 11,000 units short of gold. Meanwhile, Em's Relapse is 14,000 short of double platinum. Both are expected to achieve these marks by early July.







Z-Ro's latest drug-themed album, Heroin, like his others, charted. The Rap-A-Lot Records' unsung hero cleared 4,000 units, despite limited promotion and distribution. 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

43

Nas & Damian Marley

Distant Relatives

8,900

134,000



47

Eminem

Relapse

8,400

1,986,000



112

Drake So Far Gone

4,500

489,000



131

Z-Ro

Heroin

3,900

4,100



179

Lil Jon

Crunk Rock

2,900

17,000

From HipHopDX.com
 
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11599/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-6-27-2010

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

New Book Claims Death Row Was An FBI Front To Ruin Black Activism

New Book Claims Death Row Was An FBI Front To Ruin Black Activism


Thursday, June 17, 2010 4:30 PM

By Nolan Strong

(AllHipHop News) A new book being published claims that Death Row Records was actually a front for the FBI in an attempt to assault and end black activism.



The new book "The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders: U.S. Intelligence’s Murderous Targeting of Tupac, MLK, Malcolm, The Panthers, Hendrix, Marley, Rappers & Linked Ethnic Leftists".



According to the book’s author, Baltimore area native and Columbia University graduate John Potash, he extensively researched the book, which claims to show the FBI’s consistent pattern of undermining black activism.



The book claims that Shakur was deliberately targeted by the government, like other black leaders, due to his growing influence in the African-American community, utilizing Hip-Hop music.



"What I think it was was that he had become the most influential black man in the black community in the country," Potash told The Baltimore City Paper. "The CIA and U.S. intelligence, what they have to do is win the hearts and minds of the people. They don't want to control us by force, they want us to control ourselves by having us believe in a certain way--that we don't need national health care, for example. And here, Tupac was threatening to win over the hearts and minds of people, he was able to counter so much of the propaganda in the black community."



The FBI War on Tupac Shakur took ten years to research, utilizing court testimony, FBI documents and a number of previously unseen documents provided by The Black Panthers to Potash.



As for Death Row, Potash claims that the government was definitely involved in the record label’s operations, in a continued attempt to harass Shakur and derail his career.



"I believe that Death Row Records, which included dozens and dozens of police officers at all levels, according to a high-level police officer that investigated them, was a front company and was trying to continue penal coercion and mess up [Tupac Shakur's] head," Potash said.



A research documentary also accompanies the self-published book.

From AllHipHop.com
 
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/06/17/22270000.aspx