This week, Rick Ross and Pharrell hit the top of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart with Mastermind and G I R L, respectively. The two albums, which have been anticipated by many of the artists’ fans, make their first week impressions with the #1 and #2 slots. Meanwhile, ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron takes a drop in sales in its second week, with the Top Dawg Ent. rapper’s sales figures decreasing by 78 percent.
Rick Ross’s Mastermind Strikes At #1
Rick Ross’s Mastermind appears as the #1 album on this week’s chart. The project sold 179,215 copies its first week of availability. Recently, the album earned a 3 out of 5 in its HipHopDX review. “There isn’t anything really compelling about Rick Ross’s fictional tale anymore,” HipHopDX said of the album. “It has become stale. There is no real wiggle room for his kingpin fallacy. There’s only one angle of interest left to explore: the truth. ‘The truth will set you free, son. The truth will set you free,’ executive producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs shouts smugly on ‘Nothing,’ assumedly at opposing rappers pretending to be something they’re not. How ironic. Ross could’ve used that kind of advice himself years ago. Perhaps he’ll take heed before the next mastering.”
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Pharrell’s G I R L Enters Charts At #2
Pharrell’s G I R L enters the chart this week at #2. The project sold 112,534 units in its first week of availability. The disc, which features the hit single “Happy,” earned a 3.5 out of 5 in its HipHopDX review. “While G I R L is too surface-level at times, it hits the target it’s aimed for,” HipHopDX said of this release. “Pharrell wants summertime airplay, and any of these songs could survive on the radio. It’s also a nice tribute to feminine vigor, adding another notch to Pharrell’s ever-growing list of achievements. He has plenty to be happy about these days.”
ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron Drops To #8
ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron appears as the #8 album on this week’s chart. In its second week, the album sold 30,168 copies, a 78 percent decrease from last week’s 138,630 units sold. Overall, Oxymoron has sold 169,118 copies. Yesterday (March 11), ScHoolboy Q spoke about his current deal with Aftermath Entertainment/Top Dawg Ent. “I already did wrong by signing a rap contract,” ScHoolboy Q said. “I’m not talking about TDE, but how we ventured off with the majors. I wish we would have still stayed indie. I don’t care about being on like 100 radios or shit like that. I love Interscope, but I wish I could have just stayed with TDE.”
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Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 3/9/2014
#1. Rick Ross – Mastermind – 179,000 (179,000)
#2. Pharrell – G I R L – 113,00 (113,000)
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#8. ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron – 30,000 (169,000)
#19. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2 – 15,000 (1,990,000)
#33. Drake – Nothing Was The Same – 9,700 (1,500,000)
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#42. Kid Cudi – SATELLITE FLIGHT: The journey to Mother Moon – 8,300 (95,000)
#46. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d. city – 7,600 (1,207,000)
#53. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist – 6,500 (1,366,000)
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#54. The Notorious B.I.G. – Greatest Hits – 6,200 (751,000)
#71. Kid Ink – My Own Lane – 4,800 (109,000)
* data comes from Nielsen Soundscan, rounded to nearest thousand for units above 10,000, nearest hundred for units below 10,000. Each week, HipHopDX presents top albums in Hip Hop/related, and five notables.
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Who will take the top spot next week? Stay tuned to HipHopDX.
Which of These Albums is the Most Compelling?
RELATED: Last Week’s Album Sales
