MTV’s Hope For Haiti Now release stayed strong in its second week of release. Now coming in #2 just behind Country/Pop act Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now, the compilation of songs specifically written for the tragedy includes work from already chartering acts such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, Alicia, Keys and Mary J Blige. Wyclef Jean was also involved. Proceeds from the sale go to relief efforts in Haiti, which were independent of the over $57 million raised by phone, text and web support over the weekend.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It made a huge climb on the charts. The Epic Records soundtrack companion to the summer film surged 11 spots. Although the Grammy Awards aired Sunday, the tribute may have had a huge effect in the closing hours of the sales week, which runs Monday through Sunday.
The lone new Urban release was Corinne Bailey Rae’s The Sea. The EMI/Blue Note project was met with warm reviews, and debuted at #7. The Black Eyed Peas maintained a Top 10 appearance with The E.N.D. The Los Angeles-based quartet’s release crossed the 1.9 million mark, bringing them to the cusp of double platinum.
Alicia Keys‘ Element Of Freedom remained in the Top 10. The #7 J Records release appears to be two more weeks away from a platinum plaque, though Keys’ involvement with the aforementioned telethon and other media appearances could drive sales faster.
* 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 |
| 2 | Various Artists | Hope For Haiti Now | 143,000 | 314,000 |
| 6 | Michael Jackson’s | This Is It | 55,000 | 1,404,000 |
| 7 | Corinne Bailey Rae | The Sea | 53,000 | 53,000 |
| 10 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 40,000 | 1,929,000 |
| 11 | Alicia Keys | Element of Freedom | 37,000 | 965,000 |
Lil Wayne and teammates’ We Are Young Money approaches 300,000 just as Rebirth releases. Next week, Wayne will likely be the first rapper since T.I. to have two different albums on the Top 200. With Birdman, Jay Sean and the 350,000-plus-selling Drake already on the charts, Cash Money/Universal Records shows signs of early sales dominance in 2010, though Interscope continues to find a great magnitude of success in Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent and Eminem.
Speaking of Eminem’s Relapse, that and Jay-Z‘s Blueprint 3 continue to sell very close week-to-week. The two efforts differred by less than 250 overall units sold. Both aim for multi-platinum status, with equal potential in the next quarter.
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Kid Cudi is likely two weeks away from crossing the 300,000 mark. The Cleveland-born emcee/singer found a lot of success in his debut release Man On The Moon: The End Of Day. The G.O.O.D. Music rapper is said to be taking a new artistic direction with his 2010 sophomore effort, which will reportedly be a more positive, happier-sounding record. 50 Cent‘s Before I Self Destruct heads towards 400,000. The Interscope album may be Fif’s last with his second major label.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 28 | Young Money | We Are Young Money | 19,000 | 270,000 |
| 40 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 | 14,000 | 1,578,000 |
| 41 | Eminem | Relapse | 14,000 | 1,805,000 |
| 85 | Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon: The End Of Day | 6,600 | 289,000 |
| 86 | 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct | 6,600 | 379,000 |
With slower sales, can Styles P & Green Lantern, Statik Selektah or Nneka crack the charts? Will Lil Wayne’s Rebirth assume the top spot?
