The Pied Piper of R&B reclaimed the top urban spot. His Untitled album, continuing his lengthy relationship with Jive Records. The record, assisted by Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman, debuted at #4, scanning over six first week units.
Pop star Rihanna slid 10 spots to #14. Rated R has not had the success of RiRi’s last two albums, though many critics are praising the Barbados-born singer’s maturity and album themes. Meanwhile, the King of Pop is a week away from platinum in his Michael Jackson’s This Is It soundtrack collection. The disc is being sold in Starbuck’s, Sam’s Club and other non-traditional retailers.
50 Cent’s potential last album from Interscope went to #35, just inching out Jay-Z. Before I Self Destruct has been met with mixed reviews from the Queens super-star. Late last week, Fif said that he had one final mixtape in his career, seen as an effort to promote the rapper’s fourth official major label release.
Both of Rap’s stars fell short of Hip Hop-turned-Electro-Pop outfit The Black Eyed Peas. Fergie, will.i.am and company tail Eminem’s Relapse by 50,000 units for top-selling Rap album of 2009 with the continued push of The E.N.D.
* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 4 | R. Kelly | Untitled |
114,000 | 114,000 |
| 8 | Michael Jackson’s | This Is It |
75,000 | 965,000 |
| 14 | Rihanna | Rated R |
59,000 | 240,000 |
| 20 | The Black Eyed Peas | E.N.D. | 50,000 | 1,490,000 |
| 35 | 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct |
30,000 | 257,000 |
Jay-Z remains Top 40 with Blueprint 3. Many expect the Brooklyn veteran to unleash a new single from his platinum album, which could potentially allow Hov to take the top-seller of ’09.
The Cash Money Records family of yesterday and today joined arms on the charts. Juvenile‘s Cocky & Confident debuted at #43. The release sees Juvy use his major label distribution at Atlantic with marketing done by E1 Entertainment. The effort may be telling of the performance expected by B.G. this week with his same machinery. Birdman, Juvy’s onetime employer, held strong with a strong second week of Pricele$$. The Universal Motown Records-distributed project features numerous Drake appearances, and passed the 50,000 mark.
Dame Dash’s Black Keys/Rap project also surprised the charts. Released on Black Friday, BlakRoc was helped along by its first full week. The album featuring Mos Def, M.O.P. and Pharoahe Monch alike fell short of 20,000, impressive for an independent.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 38 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 |
28,000 | 1,365,000 |
| 43 | Juvenile | Cocky & Confident |
23,000 | 23,000 |
| 54 | Birdman | Pricele$$ |
17,000 | 54,000 |
| 85 | BlakRoc | BlakRoc | 11,000 | 18,000 |
| 112 | Eminem | Relapse | 8,400 | 1,542,000 |
Can Gucci Mane truly make his 2009 comeback proper with a Top 3 debut? Wil The Clipse make the Columbia Records brass happy they picked up Rap’s favorite d-boys? Is Chris Brown forgiven?
