Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 12/26/2010

    Despite critical praise, Ghostface Killah’s Apollo Kids is the third consecutive fourth quarter Def Jam Records veteran release to debut in the bottom half of the Top 200. Meanwhile, Eminem climbed 14 spots, and David Banner & 9th Wonder appeared on the charts with their Death of a Pop Star.

    Michael Jackson’s Michael maintained the Top 5, sliding two spots from last week’s #3 performance. The posthumous album that the King of Pop was working with prior to his death last year featured both Akon and 50 Cent, and has been widely criticized by fans, as well as will.i.am for its respect for the artist. The project has now surpassed 375,000 overall units.

    Actor and singer Jamie Foxx‘s fourth album, Best Night of My Life scored a #6 debut. The J Records release features Drake, Wiz Khalifa, Soulja Boy, Rick Ross, T.I. and Ludacris as the former In Living Color star continues as one of his label’s biggest stars. In its first week, the album surpassed 143,000 units.

    With last week’s Christmas holiday packing retail and online stores, Eminem’s Recovery climbed 14 spots on the charts. As one of the year’s best-selling albums, the Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records release has now surpassed 3.35 million units sold domestically. The work features production from Alex da Kid, DJ Khalil, Just Blaze and Mobb Deep’s Havoc.

    DXnext alum Nicki Minaj maintained a #8 with her Young Money Records debut Pink Friday. The effort out-sold the critically-acclaimed Kanye West album for a third straight week, which was released on the same November 22 date. Featuring both Nicki’s brand of singing and rapping, Pink Friday has appearances from will.i.am, Drake and Eminem.

    Keyshia Cole’s fourth album, Calling All Hearts, also scored a Top 10 debut. The Geffen Records sensation’s latest work features Nicki Minaj and Timbaland with Hip Hop producers lending a hand, such as J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Chink Santana and onetime K-Otix beat-supplier The ARE.

    * Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.

    Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B) 

    Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
    5 Michael Jackson Michael
    150,000 378,000
    6 Jamie Foxx Best Night of My Life 144,000 144,000
    7 Eminem Recovery 137,000 3,352,000
    8 Nicki Minaj Pink Friday 133,000 791,000
    9 Keyshia Cole Calling All Hearts 128,000 128,000

    Like Eminem, Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy saw a climb – three spots to #19. The album has now cleared well over 800,000 units for the Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records star. The work, which has topped numerous Year-End lists, including HipHopDX’s, features Kid Cudi, Pusha T, and Raekwon, amoung a huge list of others.

    T.I.‘s No Mercy fell just six spots in its third week. The emcee and label owner’s latest album was released while he was incarcerated for probation violations earlier this year, involving drugs. Officially crossing the 300,000 milestone, the latest album from Tip features Kid Cudi, Scarface and Rocko, with production by DJ Toomp, Kanye West and Jake One.

    After an impressive debut week on the charts, Diddy and Dirty Money’s Last Train To Paris fell 36 spots on the chart in its second week. Now at #43, Diddy’s first Interscope-backed album features Drake, T.I. and Rick Ross. The conceptual work is said to be soon getting remixes to popular tracks, featuring Lil Wayne, Mary J Blige and others.

     

    Following Redman and Sheek Louch respectively, Def Jam saw a veteran act’s fourth-quarter album debut below the #100 mark. Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah‘s Apollo Kids appeared at #114, despite critical praises of the Staten Island, New York emcee’s ninth album. With vocal appearances from Game, Black Thought and Wu brethren, the album also features production from Pete Rock, Sean C & LV and Scram Jones.

    Following in the footsteps of Buckshot, Murs and Jean Grae, Mississippi’s David Banner chose to do his latest album with North Carolina Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder. Banner’s fifth album is a split-billing, Death of a Pop Star, and the championed work snuck into the charts at #184. Released on Big Face Entertainment and distributed by E1, the work which has been years in the making, features Ludacris, Erykah Badu and 9th’s artist Big Remo. Selling over 7,200 first week units, the album is being called Banner’s best work in some circles.

    Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
    19 Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 86,000 824,000
    26 T.I. No Mercy 72,000 301,000
    43 Diddy – Dirty Money Last Train To Paris 39,000 140,000
    114 Ghostface Killah Apollo Kids 13,000 13,000
    184 David Banner & 9th Wonder Death of a Pop Star
    7,300 7,300

     

    The 2010 Gold & Platinum Plaques

    With just hours left in 2010, we compiled a one-stop page for you to see who pulled in plaques this year from singles and albums. With Nelly, Ludacris, Wiz Khalifa and the usual suspects, the findings might surprise you.

    Check out “Precious Medals: The 2010 Hip Hop Gold and Platinum Plaques” →

    93 thoughts on “Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 12/26/2010

    1. Best Main Stream Hip Hop Albums of the Year (in No Order):

      – My Dark Twisted Fantasy
      – Distant Relatives
      – Recovery
      – Teflon Don

    2. Eminem owning the music industry 🙂

      About to be the best selling hip-hop album since 50 Cents Massacre in 2005! :O

      1. suckdicko, god ur such a fuckin clown. nickgay minaj-a-tois does NOT represent real hip hop. she represents cotton candy pop muzik 4 gayz and lesbianz like urself. she may reach plat 1st but kanye murked her on 1st week salez AND killed her on her own shit (blazin). kanye’z power>>>>nickgay minaj-a-tois’ career. belee dat…BITCH!

    3. the best mainstream hip hop albums this year were

      no mercy
      pilot talk 2
      teflon don

      kanye’s mbdtf is one of the most overrated albums of all-time..

      the best rap album of the year period was Kendrick Lamar’s “Overly Dedicated” ..

    4. i feel bad for people thats listening to nicki minaj album, that crap isn’t good at all. glad to see her be successful but the album is garbage.

    5. Eminem selling 137,000 in his 26th week? haha thats how you know hes ripping this industry out. quality wise it was the best album of 2010 aswel. Real Talk

    6. HAHA ITS SHADY BABY HOMIE SELLIN MAD ALBUMS LIKE 136 137,000 26TH WEEK DO THE MATH PEOPLE ALL U FUCKIN HATERZ RACIST PEOPLE OUT THERE HE IS THE GREATEST NOBODY EVEN CLOSE TO EM NOT EVEN JAYZ PERIOD… 3.35 MILLI IN THIS TIME RECESSION WHEN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY HURTIN.. WE ALL CAN THANK MR INTERSCOPE EMINEM FOR SAVING THE RAP GAME.. AND THE FACT HE IS WHITE PROLLY HAS HELPED HIM A LIL , BUT ALL THEM SALES DONT THINK SO.. I NEVER THOUGHT THERE BE ANOTHER EM ALBUM BETTE THEN EMINEM SHOW , BUT SHADY STRUCK AGAIN.. NEXT UP FOR SHADY/AFTERMATH DETOX….. JUST GO LOOK THEM NUMBERS TI 300,00 WTF YE PUSHIN SOME UNITS AND MINAJ BUT SHE WONT BE AROUND MORE THEN 2YEARS.. AND DAVID BANNER HAHA I COULD SELL MORE UNITS THATS FUCKIN PATHETIC HE MIGHT AS WELL GO SELL CRACK.. HAPPY NEW YEAR BITCHES..

      1. Home slice … race has everything to do with his sales. Just take a look at the black/white ratio in the US. Whites make up 67% to Blacks @ 13%. That’s a 1:5 ratio so for … so for every 1 black that bought an Em albm you had 5 whites not to mention the oter races that played a part.

      2. Home Slice… That means that if a black dude is as good as em and has no cracker fans he will sell 700k in the same time period. whos done that? its never cut and dry, liek 1/5 of america is black? how many fifths of america are rap fans? how about youth? your stupid for trying to play with numbers and using census data

    7. fuck all you faggots that didnt buy ghostface album.

      all the net faggots always gas ghostface album, but never buy it.

      fuckin flakes. this is why hip hop is a joke. yall niggas think music should be free, wont even support a nigga thats kept u laced with hot shit for over a decade. good to see banner and 9th did well indy. buy real music. ghost is a real nigga, ghost fans need to get real. creative, hard working, consistent. thats how yall return the love? disgraceful.

    8. IN MY I-POD : RAEKWON : buban linx 2
      nas/marley : distant relative
      Eminem : recovery
      ghostface : appolo kid
      The roots : how i get over
      ghostface: suprem clientèle
      MADVILLAINY : madvillainy
      the jacka & ampichino :devilz reject
      the jacka : tear gas
      tech n9ne : mixtape
      tech n9ne : kod
      raekwon : cocanism
      the last dj premier
      bun b : trill og
      the last big boi
      DAMN!!!!!!!!GO listen the real hip!!!!!!!! hop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    9. its not coz eminem is white, there are other white rappers, paul wall, asher roth…. but dont see them good rappers selling 137,000 in their 26th week

    10. nicki is killing me! oh well cant knock her hustle.
      on the other hand David Banner’s album is, well its David Banner, get that shit.

    11. Man Eminem sucks. I bet Eminem is buying all the albums to himself. Nobody liked Recovery. Kanye West fails and so does that epic fail of Ghostface Killah. Only anti social nerds like that crap. Gucci Mane will murk that nigga like nothing.

      It’s Gucci Time!

      1. Yo Gucci your shits getting really fucking annoying. Commenting on every thing on this site. Get a fucking life.

      2. I swear this dude got no life. Like he puts so much effort into trolling this site. And its not even amusing, its just embarrassing how much time he puts into it.

      1. you’re just mad that lupe, talib and the roots can’t do numbers. i bet if they when triple platinum you’d stop listening to them (or at least say you don’t listen to them) because they’d be “populer” which must mean it’s for “white kids and chicks.” you’re like those fucking emo kids who will say they don’t like artists once they start getting popular. i don’t like the word hater, but c’mon. that’s the definition of hating. faggot.

      2. by the way the roots, lupe and talib (talib can be pretty fucking boring though) are cool and talented no doubt, but emineim shits on them any day of the week. even when he’s constipated. they’ll even say so themselves.

      3. at least the whites kids and chicks fucking buy cd’s and support their favorite artists. You’re just a poser until they get popular.

    12. T.I. went from 160,000 to 300,000 in 2 weeks with no promotion and no new single out! That’s how you do it!!! #proud

    13. was’nt feeling alot of that ghostface to tell you the truth, even though it got a very good response from internet kids. But he did indicate that wasn’t the real shit..wait until next year supreme clientele 2

    14. makes you kinda wonder if def jam is sabotagging redman/ghost/sheek so they can becoe and R&B label exclusivley.

      also, for everyone claiming recovery is album of year just because of sales, go back and listen to marshall mathers LP and come back to earth

      1. Uh, dude, you do realize that the Marshall Mathers LP came out about 10 years ago, right? It cannot be album of the year 2010, which is what you were implying.

      2. Actually he was implying that Eminem’s new music isnt all that good anymore.. which i could almost agree with until I just listened to cokaine…

      3. thanks heat 357. all i’m saying is that relapse is a good album in an average mainsteam market. listen to marshal mathers and you relize he can do better. honeslty, i don’t think it was that much better recovery save crack a bottle and the forgetful single.

    15. Who in the world is still buying Nicki Minaj’s album? I’ll give her some lyrical props but that album was horrible. I don’t hear anybody riding by bumping that shit. I mean do people really want to hear her making crazy ass voice changes for an entire album? That shit is like torture but I guess someone likes it. To each his own.

    16. You’re all a fucking disgrace to hip-hop. Ghostface came out with a banger album, real raw hip-hop shit, and you just keep downloading instead of copping. And then you all whine hip-hop is dead. Why is it dead? Because of YOU.

      1. Yeah it’s a banging album but no one buys it. Hip Hop is fucked up these days when a real artist puts out an excellent album and it’s forgotten about.

    17. The sad thing is that Ghostface probably isn’t even surprised by these numbers. He’s not expecting his records to sell. He knows most of his money is gonna come through touring. In the states and outside of the states, Europe etc etc.

      Go cop some ghostface anyway. I just copped Apollo Kids and Supreme Clientele again.

    18. That skank bitch Keri hilson sold 102,000 copies the first week. Thats alot more then I thought she would. I was kinda hoping she sell less then ciara after she was making fun of ciara’s first week sales. Watch that album plummet the next week. I sound like a hater on steroids and I don’t give a fuck. This broad act like her shit don’t stink and that her pussy gives seizures. GTFOH

    19. shout out nicki… doin it on these hoe azz bytches… fuk real hip hop… i like good music period and aint no way in the world im spending my money on a ghost face album ever again. i bought the 1st supreme clientele and tried to listen to that shyt like 5 or 6x and that shyt got worse with each listen. what u haterz mean when you say real hip hop is really REGIONAL hip hop. no one likes that shyt but y’all. even after saying that i still wish em success and hope the ppl that love it buy it but it would be nice if u puss1es stop complainin about other folks buyin music that they like…not what ur peanut brain is feelin at the time.

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    21. While I agree that Kanye’s whining did make most people give him the cold shoulder, Kanye’s album was far from a commercial album, and plus it’s a Hip Hop/Rap album released during the last 6 weeks of the year. When was the last time a Rap album released DURING the holiday season actually stayed on the charts and didn’t get swamped by a slew of Holiday themed and Pop albums? As far as I’m concerned Kanye’s album is still a commercial success in this day and age, but compared to his other older albums, it is a commercial failure. Sadly, only 3 (that’s right, THREE) Hip Hop albums have sold more than 500,000 copies this year, Eminem’s Recovery, Drake’s Thank Me Later and Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I won’t include Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday because her album is more Pop-oriented than Hip Hop and VERY radio-friendly. 2 years ago Kanye released 808s & Heartberak the same week he just released MBDTF, which was not a Rap album, but it was a Pop album with 2 HUGE singles that stayed on the Billboard charts for months (“Heartless” had American Idol contestants covering the song, for God’s sakes). Of course the album sold well because of that. Now here we are 2 years later, Rap sales have decreased DRASTICALLY over the last couple years, for Kanye to release a Rap album during the 2010 Holiday season with no party-friendly singles on the album and little to no radio play of those singles and the album still debuted at #1 with 3,000 copies short of 500,000 the first week and a total of 827,000 copies sold in 5 weeks is VERY good for a Hip Hop/Rap album this year. Just as with 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will most likely be certified Platinum in mid-January, though it probably won’t reach the total sales of 808s. I’m not surprised Kanye’s album is selling the way it is because as soon as I found out it was going to be released during the Black Friday Week i just KNEW it was not gonna debut at #1.

      Nicki Minaj on the other hand has radio play because she IS listenable. Of course her songs are going to sell as much as Katy Perry and Rihanna. Your Love, Moment 4 Life and Roman’s Revenge are great songs but I was disappointed by how watered-down the album was compared to Nicki Minaj’s previous underground work. And as a rapper she has rapped much better in the past but this album she toned it down to appeal more to the masses. The masses love Pop music- Taio Cruz, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Jason DeRulo, and Ke$ha all make radio-friendly songs so of cousre they will sell units.

      Bottom line is this- Rappers, NEVER release your album during the last 6 weeks of the year, unless you putting out a Rap album with Pop songs on it

      1. there were more than 3 albums this year that went gold. BoB went gold as did rick ross, kid cudi’s first album, luda’s battle of the sexes, etc.

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    23. WHAT tha fuc is Nicki’s “brand” of singin’ and rappin’..lol..yall tried to make that shit sound respectable..call a spade a spade..will NY stop at nothin to have a rapper on top..cosignin’ that bullshit..”POP MUSIC” IS NOT REAL..ITS ALOT OF MISGUIDED PPL MAKIN BULLSHIT MUSIC THAT NOBODY WILL PLAY IN A FEW YRS..RAPPERS THAT DO THAT SHIT DONT EXIST..”MURDER INC”..EXTINCT NOW BECAUSE OF THAT SHIT..”50 CENT”..LOST 3/4THS OF HIS FANBASE BECAUSE OF THAT SHIT..”INSERT ANY WACK NIGGA OVER THE LAST 30 YRS OF HIPHOP” WHO DID THAT SHIT..JAY,FACE,OUTKAST-MOST DUDES WHO MAKE HITS THAT ARE TRUE TO WHAT THEY DO..LONGEVITY..”EMINEM-WHITE JESUS” SELLS RECORDS..NOT BECAUSE HE WHITE..ITS BECAUSE HE’S THE ONLY WHITE DUDE WHO AT LEAST USED TO MAKE “CREDIBLE” MUSIC..DOES HE NOW..HELL NAW..HIS SHIT IS GA-BAGE..BUT DO YALL PROMOTE IT..OF COURSE..”WHITEBOYS”-AND I LIKE WHITE PPL..LOVE THE FACT THAT HE EXISTS..ONCE U UNDERSTAND THAT..U UNDERSTAND WHY HE’S SELLIN 3 MILLION RECORDS OF A SHIT-SANDWICH..ITS NOT SCIENCE..U CAN COME BACK WITH A MILLION RESPONSES..IT WONT CHANGE THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY ON YO BLOCK OWNS A COPY OF “DARK FANTASY” AND HAS BEEN RUNNIN IT AROUND THE CLOCK AND “NOBODY” PLAYED THAT 3 MILLION SELLIN EMINEM ALBUM..THERE WERE NO DISECTIONS TRACK BY TRACK OF THAT SHIT…IT WASNT NO “WHO DID THIS BEAT” DISCUSSIONS..IT WASNT NO CONVO ABT THAT 3 MILLION RECORDS SOLD ALBUM..WHY?…BECAUSE IT WASNT THAT GOOD

      1. take your caps lock button off, ranting and raving on hhdx aint gonna change the game none, lol

        You act like you really, truly upset that artists you dont like have fans, get the fuck over it homie, its not the worst thing that could happen

        If I had my way, albums like The Left and Muggs vs Ill bill would be the multi-platinum albums…….But there not, it is what it is, no reason to cry about it

    24. Haters keep hating while Em keeps winning, gotta love the dudes who post 1,000 word emotional essays about why it sucks, like its gonna make an Em fan say “You Know what, internet hater was right, fuck this guy” and crack his CD in half, lol

      Nicki gonna wind up outselling Kanye in the end, not that I give a Fuck about either album, just surprised…….

      T.I dropped a Massive brick this time around, his next album is gonna be do or die, B.O.B is the highest seller on Grand Hustle at the moment, who’da thunk it??

      Def Jam is damned if they do, damned if they dont, If they dont release an album, artists and fans bitch, when they do release an album from an artist trying to keep it real, it flops and people bitch about promotion wake up and accept the fact that the internet killed Real Hip Hop, all you motherfuckers do is D/L shit when it leaks and get bored with it by the time it actually comes out, resulting in you not buying the shit……Then commence to hating on everything that does have a fanbase that remembers what a record store looks like, you motherfuckers are the problem here, no one else

    25. If y’all like these albums you should check out the poopy butt farts!!!
      Sludge, Skid, and Murpy put it down hard…..
      Poopy butt farts
      Catch us on the charts
      O that’s right you can’t
      Bcuz u don’t have the heart
      U fools better quit
      I don’t give a shit
      U think you can spit
      Wit da poopy butt clique……

      That’s just a snippet ya’ll the rest will be on youtube after I cut the track with Skid, and Murpy in the studio…

      Peace ya’ll!!

    26. Imma say this right now…. a lot of people are hating on Kanye West and not calling it a hip hop album….. WTF??? Ghostface Killah’s album was critically acclaimed and you assholes still think that’s not good enough? Did you even listen to the album? I loved them both. God, some people really become really extremist when it comes to deciding what is hip hop and what is not. So what if it went over girls… the lyrics are outstanding.

    27. The “Critically Acclaimed” and “Top Most List” comments about Kanye album continues to baffle me. I just dont see it. Album is average at best to me. Nothing on there really stands out as great in my opinion. Crazy.

      1. Definitly not his best. But also not his worst.2010 is not a good year for hip hop sales, i mean, sure em sold a lot but compared to 2008, it’s nothing. know what im sayin?

      2. The fuck you smoking? It’s a classic album.. If you don’t think that’s a great album then your standards are way too high. Production-wise, I’d put it top ten or twenty of all time.

      3. TOTALLY agree, man. After I read all the reviews and all the critical acclaim, I thought Kanye’s album was gonna be insane! Shit sucks!!! ESPECIALLY the production! WTF??? I don’t get critics, man, just don’t get it. What is so good about that album? We all know Kanye is waaayy more capable of better beats than that. C’MON SON!!

    28. Real hip hop is a dope beat and fun lyrics.. It doesn’t have to be political and include big words out of context…

    29. What the fuck is wrong with Ghost’s fans? This sold just 13000 first week and its an excellent album. This dude used to be platinum and gold. Why is no one buying it anymore, especially when he puts out a hot album like this?

      1. Yo, man…let’s be honest..Ghost album shoulda had better production. Beats shoulda been better, for real!! RZA needs to stop fuckin around and come back!!!! With that Original sound!

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