While Taylor Swift‘s Fearless held the #1 spot, this past week saw the first new Top 10 urban release of the year. While Beyonce topped the urban acts, at #2, with I Am…Sasha Fierce [click to read], Bad Boy Records returned to hardcore New York rap releases with the Notorious Soundtrack [click to read]. The compilation features classic and unreleased Notorious B.I.G. tracks, as well as new material from Jadakiss and Jay-Z. Kanye West‘s 808’s & Heartbreak [click to read] assumed the #5 spot. The album may see further sales growth as
the Chicago luminary is set to grace the covers of upcoming issues of Complex and VIBE.
Jamie Foxx [click to read] was at #8 with Intuition [click to read], while Keyshia Cole‘s A Different Me [click to read] was right behind at #9. The duo has battled weekly for the last three.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 2 | Beyonce | I Am…Sasha Fierce | 49,221 | 1,634,377 |
| 4 | Various Artists | Notorious Soundtrack | 42,946 | 43,035 |
| 5 | Kanye West | 808’s & Heartbreak | 39,529 | 1,184,874 |
| 8 | Jamie Foxx | Intuition | 31,439 | 479,611 |
| 9 | Keyshia Cole | A Different Me | 31,301 | 570,394 |
T.I. [click to read] remained Top 20 this past week, as Paper Trail [click to read] chimed in at #17. Lil Wayne [click to read] , over six months after his release date, was next at #23 with Tha Carter III [click to read].
The biggest news of the week may have been Ludacris [click to read] going gold, with over 500,000 units sold of his Theater of the Mind [click to read]. The release has seen less substantial buzz than usual from the Atlanta superstar, but may gain ground with future singles. Scarface [click to read] approaches six figures with his Emeritus [click to read],
his reported last album from the onetime platinum rapper. Despite
strong sales, the effort has been ignored by commercial radio. Another Houston veteran, Black Mike, was the last Hip Hop entry on the Top 200, with his digitally-released That’s Me.
In the last year, Texas artists from Boss Hogg Outlawz to Z-Ro to Lil Keke have found chart success. This week, from Beyonce to Jamie Foxx to Scarface to Black Mike, Texas urban artists ruled the charts.
Other Notables
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 17 | T.I. | Paper Trail | 20,178 | 1,596,820 |
| 23 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III | 15,355 | 2,933,533 |
| 25 | Ludacris | Theater Of The Mind | 14,860 | 504,118 |
| 114 | Scarface | Emeritus | 4,051 | 93,995 |
| 190 | Black Mike | That’s Me | 2,478 | 15,163 |
Will Detroit’s versatile Platinum Pied Pipers get some love for their Abundance? Stay tuned to HipHopDX for next week….
