Jay-Z [click to read] was forced to take a minor back-seat after two topping weeks on the charts. Pearl Jam‘s latest bumped Blueprint 3 [click to read] as it’s within 100,000 units of a platinum plaque, making it just the third Rap album to do so this year. Whitney Houston fell to #4, though I Look To You remained in the Top 5 for a third consecutive week.
The new stars of Universal Records, Kid Cudi [click to read] and Drake reversed positions after last week. Cudi‘s debut long-player Man On The Moon: The End of Day [click to read] sold 30% of its first week sales, as it heads towards 200,000. Cudi‘s ’08 classmate, Drake passed his peer last week with mixtape-turned-EP So Far Gone [click to listen]. Best Buy had the effort priced at $6.99, and included the Canadian star’s hits, “Successful” and “Best I Ever Had” as well as “Fear” [click to listen] which acknowledges one-time peers Little Brother and Slum Village. The EP crossed the 100,000 mark, a feat rarely seen in modern Hip Hop.
The Black Eyed Peas [click to read] bounced back in the Top 20. With continued radio success, the Hip-Pop veterans may use The E.N.D. [click to read] to become the beginning of a rumored re-negotiation period with longtime label A&M Records, part of the Interscope family.
* 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 |
| 2 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 |
134,000 | 908,000 |
| 4 | Whitney Houston | I Look To You | 66,000 | 620,000 |
| 9 | Drake | So Far Gone |
36,000 | 110,000 |
| 16 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. |
29,000 | 1,140,000 |
| 17 | Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon: End Of Day | 28,000 | 133,00 |
Lil Boosie [click to read] fell 23 places. The Baton Rouge rapper released his latest, Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz [click to read] through Warner/Asylum/Trill, an album that stands a likely chance of six-figure sales. Boosie learned last week that it may be several years until he can enjoy said success, after drug and gun convictions.
Sean Kingston [click to read] was the one new Rap artist on the charts this week. Despite previous success, the Jamaican-born rap-singer’s Tomorrow debuted in the Top 40, but barely so. The release features Wyclef Jean as well as Rockers Good Charlotte.
Raekwon [click to read] crossed the 100,000 mark with Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 [click to read]. Released through Chef‘s own Ice Water imprint, he was backed and distributed by the ’09-secret success story, EMI Records. The album is Rae‘s most elaborate to date, with Dr. Dre, RZA, Erick Sermon, Alchemist, J Dilla, Pete Rock and Marley Marl all contributing production.
Veteran outfits Trick Daddy [click to read] and a collaborative album from KRS-One & Buckshot [click to read] both made the Top 130 in sales. Finally Famous scanned just another 5,000 units, while the Duck Down Records release Survival Skills [click to read] trudges at just 12,000 overall sales. The effort serves as a Boot Camp Clik reunion with Mary J Blige.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 30 | Lil Boosie | Superbad: The Return Of Boosie Badazz |
15,000 | 64,000 |
| 37 | Sean Kingston | Tomorrow | 13,000 | 13,000 |
| 40 | Raekwon | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 |
12,000 | 101,000 |
| 101 | Trick Daddy | Finally Famous: Born A Thug, Still A Thug | 4,700 | 18,000 |
| 129 | KRS-One & Buckshot | Survival Skills |
3,600 | 12,000 |
Will Mack 10 bang or ball? Can Ghostface earn a top spot? Will Skyzoo find salvation? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.