New releases flooded the charts this week. Pop Queen, who once has worked with Wyclef Jean [click to read] and Murder Inc., Whitney Houston, claimed the #1 spot with I Look The You. Selling over 300,000 first-week units, the effort comes under AristaRecords, the same imprint that launched Whitney‘s career 26 years ago. Trey Songz came in at #3, selling over 130,000 units of his long-awaited Ready [click to read]. The singer’s third album is supported by Drake, Gucci Mane [click to read], Fabolous [click to read] and Soulja Boy [click to read].
The Insane Clown Posse, the Detroit, Michigan group that made Rap headlines for their feud with Eminem, has worked with emcees like Esham, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Snoop Dogg [click to read] throughout a commercially successful career. Releasing their first album in two years, the now totally independent operation saw Bang! Pow! Boom! get a Top 5 debut. Pitbull [click to read] also debuted in the Top 10. Now longer a TVT Records artist, now aligned with the major, J Records, the Miami-based emcee released his party-focused Rebelution [click to read]. Three of the album’s singles have reached tremendous radio success in Urban and Pop markets.
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Just out of the Top 10 this week was California’s Black Eyed Peas [click to read]. Quite distant from their Ruthless Records roots on The E.N.D. [click to read], The Peas confirmed platinum this week, only the second to do so of 2009 Rap releases, after Eminem. Speaking of, Em dipped two more spots to #30 with his Relapse [click to read], an album that may reach 1.5 million units sold before October. Maxwell’s Black Summer’s Night gained two spots to #15, still holding platinum-potential.
* please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
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Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 3 | Trey Songz | Ready | 131,000 | 133,000 |
| 4 | Insane Clown Posse | Bang! Pow! Boom! | 50,000 | 50,000 |
| 8 | Pitbull | Rebelution | 41,000 | 41,000 |
| 11 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 34,000 | 1,028,000 |
| 15 | Maxwell | Black Summer’s Night | 30,000 | 718,000 |
Beanie Sigel‘s [click to read] first official release not through Def Jam, Broad Street Bully [click to read], came in at #77. Strangely, the album has no production credits, leading many fans to question its merits, though it boasts a bulk of State Property appearances and themes.
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Stones Throw Records‘ Funk/R&B sensation out of Michigan, Mayer Hawthorne broke into the charts with his album Strange Arrangement. Peanutbutter Wolf‘s recent discovery has been recognized for his influences from ’70s Funk and Soul outfits, and has been touring most of the year with his label-founder and Dam Funk.
Hypnotize Minds‘ artist Lil Wyte still snuck into the charts in his second week. The Memphis rapper’s The Bad Influence [click to read] album boasts DJ Paul & Juicy J [click to read] production, underneath tracks largely devoted to drug use and partying. Having previously sold six-figure numbers on independent releases, Wyte may be one to watch accumulate sales over time.
Slaughterhouse [click to read] remained in the Top 150, but fell considerably for the second straight week, with their acclaimed self-titled release [click to read].
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 30 | Eminem | Relapse | 15,000 | 1,411,000 |
| 77 | Beanie Sigel | Broad Street Bully | 6,500 | 6,600 |
| 160 | Mayer Hawthorne | Strange Arrangement | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 172 | Slaughterhouse | Slaughterhouse | 2,800 | 31,000 |
| 184 | Lil Wyte | The Bad Influence | 2,700 | 7,600 |
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Will Jay-Z go #1? Will Raekwon get a Top 5 return to the charts? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.
