Sade battled off Lady Antebellum for another week to maintain her #1 spot for a third week with Soldier Of Love. With more television appearances coming, the veteran Jazz/Soul vocalists is enjoying a comeback after nearly a decade hiatus. Her Epic Records project is also a celebrated success to the label who’s biggest enjoyment last year was a posthumous Michael Jackson compilation. The 51 year-old singer is likely to reach platinum by month’s end.
The Black Eyed Peas enjoyed their 38th week on the charts. The group fell one spot of their Interscope Records release The E.N.D. Already at double platinum, a new video “Imma Be Rocking That Body,” has will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo and Apl.De.Ap staying as close to the top of the charts as they’ve been in months. will.i.am will soon be working on Usher’s Raymond v. Raymond.
Lil Wayne‘s Rebirth slipped one spot too, as Wayne suggests that a video will surface within a month of his collaboration with Eminem for “Drop The World”
. With radio support and Wayne remaining free indefinitely, Rebirth could have platinum potential. Alicia Keys‘ Element Of Freedom fell out of the Top 10 last week. The platinum release was rivaled in week sales by Rihanna’s dark outcry, Rated R.
* 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 |
| 1 | Sade | Soldier Of Love | 127,000 | 820,000 |
| 4 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 50,000 | 2,181,000 |
| 6 | Lil Wayne | Rebirth | 38,000 | 361,000 |
| 13 | Alicia Keys | Element of Freedom | 24,000 | 1,102,000 |
| 14 | Rihanna | Rated R | 24,000 | 688,000 |
Jay-Z‘s Blueprint 3 and Eminem’s Relapse remain cemented on the Top 200, with 25 and 41 weeks on the chart respectively. Jay-Z already began speaking about his next album, reportedly his first with Sony Records, two weeks ago.
50 Cent‘s Before I Self Destruct has crossed the 400,000 mark and heads towards platinum in what appears to be his final Interscope album after a tremendous eight year run. Close behind, Drake hopes to take his debut EP, So Far Gone to 400,000 next week, which remains groundbreaking for an album that few people are recognizing as “official,” based on its free download beginnings.
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Freeway & Jake One‘s The Stimulus Package fell nearly 100 places between its debut and sophomore week. Free’s first “official” independent album, this on the Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers label was supported with a whole album’s worth of production from Seattle’s most prolific producer, Jake One. The album features guest appearances from Beanie Sigel, Young Chris, Raekwon and Freeway’s latest label employer, Birdman. More videos from the project are expected soon, though radio has not embraced the independent project.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 37 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 | 13,000 | 1,645,000 |
| 52 | Eminem | Relapse | 11,000 | 1,864,000 |
| 63 | 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct | 8,400 | 411,100 |
| 78 | Drake | So Far Gone | 7,100 | 394,000 |
| 158 | Freeway & Jake One | The Stimulus Package | 3,500 | 13,000 |
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Will DJ Khaled claim Victory on the charts like his first two albums? Will Rap fans support Raheem DeVaughn? Stay tuned to next week at HipHopDX.
