Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 12/7/08

Britney Spears is back. Whether for artistry or non-musical entertainment, the Jive Records Pop princess assumed the #1 spot with her Circus. With Taylor Swift‘s Fearless taking #2, Beyonce climbed back above with her I Am…Sasha Fierce [click to read], after a close race last week. Kanye West followed closely with 808’s & Heartbreak [click to read].

Akon, in his debut week, entered the charts at #7 with Freedom [click to read]. This was a surprising position for the platinum singer to enter given his tremendous momentum on radio singles the last two years.

Ludacris [click to read] fell 10 spots with his Theater of The Mind [click to read]. The fall comes as a shock to many, as Ludacris has remained one of Hip Hop’s most commercially viable stars. Lastly, veteran Scarface [click to read] entered the charts at #25 with his reported parting-shot from rap Emeritus [click to read].

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

T.I. [click to read] lost 11 spaces and went to #27 with his Paper Trail [click to read].Lil Wayne [click to read] slid six spaces as well. Tha Carter III [click to read] trudges towards three million sold in the States. E-40 [click to read] and his Ball Street Journal [click to read] continued to circulate, though falling over 50 spots in the last week. The Game [click to read] was close behind with his LAX [click to read]

Q-Tip [click to read] and The Renaissance [click to read] fell considerably, but remained on the charts with a tour in progress, and slews of critical accolades.

Other Notables

Can Common compete with the heavyweights, despite mixed reviews? How will Jamie Foxx and Anthony Hamilton do in a big year for R&B? Any love left for EPMD? Stay tuned to HipHopDX next week…