Jay-Z [click to read] climbed slipped just one space with Blueprint 3 [click to read], as the emcee tours North America, including a stop tomorrow night in The Bronx to continue his promotion of the Yankee hat. Jay joins Eminem and The Black Eyed Peas [click to read] as the lone three platinum 2009 Rap albums. The trio is within 300,000 units of each other, with Jay-Z and Black Eyed Peas gaining close on Marshall.
Speaking of, the Peas [click to read] refuse to quit. The E.N.D. [click to read] held rank from last week, after being out for over three months. The California veterans are striking new chords with their latest single “Meet Me Halfway.”
Mariah Carey‘s latest, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel [click to read] went to #14, heading towards 300,000. The singer recently landed a LG phone campaign to bolster her market presence. This effort gained street support with help from Gucci Mane [click to read] on “Obsessed (Remix).” Whitney Houston reamained in the Top 20 with I Look To You, one of the biggest comeback albums of 2009. The effort still stands a chance of reaching platinum by year’s end.
Just units short of 200,000, Drake‘s EP, So Far Gone [click to listen] stayed in the Top 25. The sneak attack Cash Money Records EP has proven to be one of the most successful in its format of all times.
* 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 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 |
43,000 | 1,159,000 |
| 6 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. |
35,000 | 1,270,000 |
| 14 | Mariah Carey | Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel | 21,000 | 275,000 |
| 20 | Whitney Houston | I Look To You |
19,000 | 750,000 |
| 23 | Drake | So Far Gone | 17,000 | 197,000 |
Like Drake, Kid Cudi [click to read] is chasing the 200,000 mark, with his debut Man On The Moon: End Of Day [click to read]. The Cleveland rapper/singer was at #61 last week. A place behind, Eminem continues to lead Relapse [click to read] as the top-selling Rap album of 2009, bringing the Shady/Aftermath reign back as 50 Cent [click to read] and Dr. Dre are expected to follow-up.
Lil Boosie [click to read] is approximately a week away from six-figure sales of his Superbad: The Return of Boosie Badazz [click to read]. The rapper has recently been ordered to serve a felony jail sentence, and rumors swirl that he’s already completed his next album’s worth of material to release during incarceration.
The big debut on last week’s shelves was Royce Da 5’9″ [click to read] with his four-years-in-the-making album, Street Hop [click to read]. Executive produced by DJ Premier, a producer who’s worked with Royce since his earliest releases, the project featured an all-star cast and a new label, The Orchard.
Lastly, Jay-Z cosigned artist and DXnext alum Melanie Fiona [click to read] snuck attack her much-delayed LP The Bridge. The SRC Records release debuted in Top 130, a dismal debut from an artist that had such buzz at the top of the year.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 61 | Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon: End Of Day |
8,900 | 183,000 |
| 62 | Eminem | Relapse |
8,500 | 1,490,000 |
| 95 | Lil Boosie | Superbad: The Return Of Boosie Badazz |
5,500 | 95,000 |
| 111 | Royce Da 5’9″ | Street Hop | 4,600 | 4,600 |
| 129 | Melanie Fiona | The Bridge |
4,000 | 4,200 |
Will Tech N9ne kill the charts with K.O.D., and can Triple C’s buy new custom cars and cycles off of first week sales? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.
