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.
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ErykahBadu 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 withThe 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.
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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 GhostfaceKillah, 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.
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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.”
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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, GhostfaceKillah & 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 |
Will Murs & 9th Wonder’s Fornever exploit the charts’ vulnerability with a high debut position? Stay tuned for next week on DX…
