Jay-Z [click to read] climbed three spaces with Blueprint 3 [click to read], as his “Empire State Of Mind” takes on radio as his third album single.Jay joins Eminem and The Black Eyed Peas [click to read] as the lone three platinum 2009 Rap albums. The trio is within 300,000 units of each other, making for an interesting finish by year end.
Speaking of, the Peas [click to read] refuse to quit. The E.N.D. [click to read] climbed an astonishing 17 spots in the last week, after being out for over three months. The California veterans are striking new chords with their latest single “Meet Me Halfway.”
R&B occupied the rest of the top urban chart placements. Mario [click to read] debuted this week, with D.N.A. The singer’s fourth album serves as a premier to G.O.O.D. Music family nephew Big Sean on the song “Before She Said Hi.” Mariah Carey‘s latest, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel[click to read] remained in the Top 10, clearing the 250,000 mark. This effort gained street support with help from Gucci Mane [click to read] on “Obsessed (Remix).” Whitney Houston slipped two spots from last week with I Look To You, one of the biggest comeback albums of 2009.The effort still stands a chance of reaching platinum by year’s end.
* please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
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Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 3 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 | 55,000 | 1,116,000 |
| 6 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 40,000 | 1,235,000 |
| 9 | Mario | D.N.A. | 32,000 | 32,000 |
| 10 | Mariah Carey | Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel | 31,000 | 254,000 |
| 15 | Whitney Houston | I Look To You | 24,000 | 731,000 |
The charts were quite bottom-heavy last week too. Fat Joe‘s [click to read] J.O.S.E. 2 [click to read] took a dive on the charts. The latest from the once plaque-guaranteed star fell 103 places from its already dismal debut week. The album fell just ahead of T.I.‘s [click to read] Paper Trail [click to read], an acclaimed Rap album released over a year ago, returning to the charts for the first time in several weeks.
Ghostface Killah [click to read] dropped 36 places with Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In The Emerald City [click to read]. Ghost is already in talks with Raekwon [click to read] and Method Man about a trio album, that RZA [click to read] officially wants to be involved with.
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Snoop Dogg [click to read] debuted in the Top 150, with his shelved recordings between 1992 and 1998, during his tenure at the controversial Death Row Records imprint. Lost Sessions Volume 1 [click to read] features vintage Dr. Dre production, as well as appearances from Lady Of Rage [click to read], Nate Dogg and a much younger Dogg Pound [click to read].
Based off of the super-collab hit from Drake, “Forever,” [click to listen] the Music Inspired By More Than A Game is one of the bigger Rap soundtracks of the last two years. The Interscope release boasts tracks from Jay-Z, Rich Boy [click to read], T.I. and Black Wall Street artist Ya Boy.
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 118 | Ghostface Killah | Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In The Emerald City | 4,600 | 31,000 |
| 129 | Snoop Doggy Dogg | Death Row: The Lost Sessions Volume 1 | 4,400 | 4,400 |
| 149 | More Than A Game | Original Soundtrack | 3,600 | 15,000 |
| 176 | Fat Joe | Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 | 2,900 | 11,000 |
| 177 | T.I. | Paper Trail | 2,900 | 2,023,000 |
Will Fashawn, Cormega and Royce Da 5’9″ swarm the charts in independent Hip Hop glory? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.
