Hip Hop remains in a slump with no rap artists in the top 10 this week. The incomparable Alicia Keys, however, continues to hold down the #2 spot with As I Am selling over 292k copies this week. At this rate, Keys is slated to achieve double platinum status in approximately one more week.
Once again Billboard depicts some disheartening debuts this week. Bow Wow and Omarion, despite having the teen market on lock, failed to debut within the top 10. Face Off came in at #11 and sold 107k copies. Birdman‘s 5* Stunna debuted at #18 this week, selling 85,631 copies this week, while Mario‘s Go debuted at #21 with 76,870 sold. Wu-Tang Clan‘s controversial 8 Diagrams entered the charts this week at #25 selling 68,478 copies, as The Dream‘s first album, Love/Hate, rounds out the top 30 with just under 59k sold.
Beanie Sigel‘s Def Jam release, The Solution, debuts at a disappointing #37 this week with just over 49k sold. Gucci Mane‘s Back to the Traphouse debuted at #57 with just under 32k sold.
If the debuting numbers aren’t enough to garner concern about the current state of Hip Hop music sales, check the 2nd week numbers for last week’s debuting artists: Scarface‘s M.A.D.E. dropped from #17 to #76 (24.8k sold, 88k total), Wyclef‘s Carnival 2 dropped from #28 to #82 (22k sold, 69k total), DJ Drama‘s Gangsta Grillz fell from #26 to #91 (20k sold, 69k total), Ghostface‘s acclaimed Big Doe Rehab slipped from #41 all the way to #115 (15k sold, 51k total), 2Pac‘s Best Of: Part 1 fell from #65 to #126 (14k sold, 36k total), Styles P‘s Super Gangster fell from #52 to #148 (12k sold, 41k total), and 2Pac‘s Best of: Part 2 dropped from #77 to #158 (11k sold 30k total).
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Total |
| 2 | Alicia Keys | As I Am | 292,273 | 1,876,245 |
| 11 | Bow Wow & Omarion | Face Off | 106,948 | 107,146 |
| 12 | Chris Brown | Exclusive | 106,457 | 788,371 |
| 18 | Birdman | 5* Stunna | 85,631 | 85,871 |
| 21 | Mario | Go! | 76,870 | 77,109 |
Other Notables…
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Total |
| 29 | Soulja Boy | Souljaboytellem.com | 59,186 | 517,672 |
| 40 | Jay-Z | American Gangster | 43,516 | 783,867 |
| 60 | Kanye West | Graduation | 31,049 | 1,793,593 |
| 99 | 50 Cent | Curtis | 18,594 | 1,176,220 |
| 115 | Ghostface | Big Doe Rehab | 14,986 | 50,657 |
With numbers like the aforementioned, the world will be watching to see if Mary J. Blige can pull in the astounding numbers she has grown accustomed to. All eyes will also be on Chingy, Disturbing tha Peace and Lupe Fiasco to see who can resurrect Hip Hop from its state of emergency.
