Rick Ross [click to read] was the lone Rap star in the Top 5 urban acts this week. Deeper Than Rap [click to read]sold another 35,000 copies, securing its way, just about half, to Gold status.
Neo-Soul songstress Chrisette Michele [click to read] shocked many, beating out the household name Ciara in a close debut-week race. The Def Jam star’s Epiphany inched out Fantasy Ride [click to read], by a margin of approximately 2,000 units.
Like Jamie Foxx [click to read] the week before, Beyonce made a surprise return-visit to the Top 20. Her twice-platinum I Am…Sasha Fierce [click to read] continues to sell strongly with critical acclaim and lots of radio exposure. Perhaps protege of the sassy Pop-Soul princess, Keri Hilson‘s In A Perfect World [click to read] swiped another 22,000 units, as Timbaland and Polow‘s star heads halfway to Gold in her own right.
* 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 |
| 1 | Chrisette Michele | Epiphany |
83,000 | 84,000 |
| 3 | Ciara | Fantasy Ride |
81,000 | 81,000 |
| 8 | Rick Ross | Deeper Than Rap | 35,000 | 244,000 |
| 18 | Beyonce | I Am…Sasha Fierce | 23,000 | 2,156,000 |
| 20 | Keri Hilson | In A Perfect World | 22,000 | 259,000 |
Jadakiss [click to read] fell out the Top 20 for the first time with his The Last Kiss [click to read]. The album has market analyists [click to read] and critics alike talking. The approximately 246,000 units pairs Jada against Keri Hilson and Rick Ross closely, in overall units sold.
Asher Roth [click to read], and his Asleep At The Bread Aisle [click to read] cracked 100,000 units, as predicted in its third week of sales. After three years of delays, Mike Jones [click to view] surprised many with a Top 15 debut. Having moved from Warner Brothers to Asylum, the Houston star did fall 45 slots with Voice [click to read], but did sell another 9,000 units, approximately.
Two debuts in Hip Hop made the charts this week. Juelz Santana‘s [click to read] Skull Gang self-titled effort, sold over 4,200 copies. The release was rumored to have problems at retail, and sold exclusively through digital. E1 Records has yet to confirm whether Skull Gang or the label plans on a traditional release for the Harlem group. Oscar-winner and famed producer for hits for his group, Three-6-Mafia and others, DJ Paul [click to read] closed out the debut in Hip Hop, selling approximately 300 less units than Santana and friends, with his independent Scale-A-Ton.
Other Notables
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 34 | Jadakiss | The Last Kiss | 16,000 | 246,000 |
| 42 | Asher Roth | Asleep In The Bread Aisle | 13,400 | 102,000 |
| 60 | Mike Jones | Voice | 9,000 | 34,000 |
| 142 | Skull Gang | Skull Gang | 4,200 | 4,200 |
| 157 | DJ Paul | Scale-A-Ton | 3,900 | 4,000 |
Can Killa Cam’ron get a #1 spot from an independent? Stay on HipHopDX to know.
