House party deejay staple AC/DC entered the charts at #1 this week, followed by a third edition of those celebutante kids from High School Musical, shifting T.I. [click to read] to a third place, the first time he’s done so with this new album. Paper Trail [click to read] did not gain its platinum plaque this week, but with a video, after a trailer, of “Live Your Life” [click to view], more support is likely.
The rest of the upper charts’ urban releases saw no changes from last week. As Ne-Yo‘s Year of the Gentleman [click to read] stayed at #8, Lil Wayne [click to read] practically copied his work from last week with Tha Carter III [click to read], selling within a thousand copies of previous week. Young Jeezy [click to read] gained a spot with another strong performance of Recession [click to read]. The Game [click to read] and LAX [click to read] continue to do well, despite presently lacking a national radio single.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total | |
| 3 | T.I. | Paper Trail | 93,427 | 971,076 | |
| 8 | Ne-Yo | Year of the Gentleman | 30,711 | 521,453 | |
| 10 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III | 25,384 | 2,601,685 | |
| 15 | Young Jeezy | Recession |
|
561,561 | |
| 25 | The Game | LAX | 16,451 | 531,853 |
Only Nelly [click to read] held a rap spot on the charts between positions #25 and #100, taking the #97 spot with Brass Knuckles [click to read]. Although rarely discussed in the traditional Hip Hop marketplace, San Diego Latino rapper Lil Rob made an impressive debut with his ninth studio album, Twelve Eighteen, Part 2, released on the independent Upstairs Records.
DJ Khaled continues to struggle with his worst commercial outing of his three Koch releases. The Miami Terror Squad deejay may have his mind on Def Jam artist Ace Hood than his own, usually formidable market wizardry.
Devin The Dude [click to view] and Landing Gear [click to read] prove to be an independent success story, outdoing Murs, Z-Ro and Jake One in sales on the charts.
Nas’ Untitled [click to read] has reached the bottom of the charts. Although placement is only decided with a few hundred weekly units, if the Queensbridge superstar departs the Top 200 without a gold plaque, the artist may be unhappy with his label, falling short of what would have likely been bonus money.
Other Notables
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 87 | Nelly | Brass Knuckles | 5,598 | 152,325 |
| 101 | Lil Rob | 1218 Part 2 | 4,918 | 4,922 |
| 126 | DJ Khaled | We Global | 4,243 | 97,511 |
| 183 | Devin The Dude | Landing Gear | 2,991 | 18,906 |
| 193 | Nas | Untitled | 2,852 | 407,133 |
Will T.I. get his plaque next week? Can Black Milk get a spot, or Prodigy and company? Stay tuned to HipHopDX.
