After a very slow and repetitious week-to-week for urban music in February and March, Ludacris shook up the charts. The Disturbing Tha Peace founder took his conceptual Battle of the Sexes to a #1 debut, out-selling international animated outfit The Gorillaz by 25,000 units. Luda’s latest album was not met with many warm reviews, but the Atlanta/Def Jam mainstay remains a force on the charts. The album, which looks at gender relations, features such artists as Nicki Minaj, Trina, Eve and Lil Kim.
The Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach followed behind. The multi-platinum crew’s third effort, and first in five years, features Rap acts such as Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and previous Gorillaz collaborators, De La Soul.
Sade’s Soldier Of Love just slipped out of the Top 5. The singer may likely see her platinum plaque next week, in one of urban music’s most impressive comebacks in the last year. The Black Eyed Peas celebrated their 40th week on the charts with The E.N.D. The release remained a Top 10 too, coming in at #9. Lil Wayne‘s Rebirth remained at #12. This was the last week of Wayne out of prison to promote the album, which may hurt its platinum potential. This week, RapRadar.com reported that Rebirth had been certified gold, due to global sales not attributed in the Soundscan Top 200.
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* 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 | Ludacris | Battle of the Sexes | 137,000 | 137,000 |
| 2 | Gorillaz | Plastic Beach | 112,000 | 112,000 |
| 6 | Sade | Soldier of Love | 52,000 | 951,000 |
| 9 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 43,000 | 2,271,000 |
| 12 | Lil Wayne | Rebirth | 27,000 | 420,000 |
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Jay-Z‘s Blueprint 3 came in at #55, selling over 10,000 units last week, while Eminem’s Relapse inches closer to two million. Meanwhile, Gucci Mane‘s The State Vs. Radric Davis The Warner Brothers/Asylum release climbs past 300,000.
DJ Khaled‘s Victory fell 51 spots in its second week. The release remains short of 40,000 units sold in two weeks ago, a dismal start to an album that features Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg. 50 Cent‘s Before I Self Destruct fell 15 more spots, making it a 65 spot slide in two weeks. The rapper, believed to be departing from his Interscope Records family, spoke earlier this week about his next album, Black Magic.
Duck Down Records duo Kidz In The Hall cracked the charts with their third album, Land of Make Believe. The Chicago emcee Naledge and his New Jersey native producer Double-O experimented with new sounds and different subject matter than their previous goings. With features from MC Lyte, The Kid Daytona and ’90s Chicago veterans Crucial Conflict, the album boasts an extensive guest-list.
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 58 | Gucci Mane | The State Vs. Radric Davis | 9,400 | 310,000 |
| 64 | Eminem | Relapse | 8,800 | 1,884,000 |
| 65 | DJ Khaled | Victory | 8,700 | 37,000 |
| 118 | 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct | 5,000 | 421,000 |
| 182 | Kidz In The Hall | Land of Make Believe | 2,900 | 2,900 |
With a quiet week on the charts, can Ludacris sustain #1? Will Freeway & Jake One climb back into the charts after a week away? Stay tuned to next week at HipHopDX.
