Atlanta veteran songstress Monica topped the urban delegation of the charts last week, taking #2 with her sixth album, Still Standing. The J Records veteran has an assist from Ludacris on the effort, as well as production from Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri and Jim Jonsin. The album fell behind Justin Beiber’s My World 2.0 release, which outsold Monica by just under 100,000 units.
Speaking of Luda, the DTP founder fell four spots to #7. Battle of the Sexes has not been met with many warm reviews, but the Atlanta/Def Jam mainstay will likely cross the 250,000 unit benchmark next week, marking halfway to gold. The album, which looks at gender relations, features such artists as Nicki Minaj, Trina, Eve and Lil Kim.
The Black Eyed Peas fell two spots with The E.N.D., still maintaining a Top 10 place. Sade’s Soldier Of Love, a spot behind at #11, finally reached platinum. The Nigerian-born singer’s catalog has exclusively platinum releases, joining her latest work with her albums over the previous 26 years.
The Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach fell seven additional spots last week, after seven previously. The multi-platinum crew’s third effort, and first in five years, features Rap acts such as Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and previous Gorillaz collaborators, De La Soul.
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* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 2 | Monica | Still Standing | 184,000 | 185,000 |
| 7 | Ludacris | Battle of the Sexes | 45,000 | 243,000 |
| 10 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 34,000 | 2,344,000 |
| 11 | Sade | Soldier of Love | 31,000 | 1,023,000 |
| 16 | Gorillaz | Plastic Beach | 22,000 | 173,000 |
Lil Wayne‘s Rebirth fell four spots. The incarcerated rapper’s latest release may reach gold by the end of April. His We Are Young Money compilation was 11 spots further down the charts. Snoop Dogg‘s companion follow-up to Malice N Wonderland, titled More Malice, debuted in the Top 30. The DVD/CD project includes remixes and new material featuring Jay-Z, Bun B and Soulja Boy.
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The biggest surprise on the charts from last week came courtesy of Sacramento, California veteran emcee Brotha Lynch Hung. Signed to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music, the Horror-inspired gangsta rapper’s Dinner and a Movie has been met both with critical praise, as well as a #68 chart debut. This is Lynch’s highest charting appearance since 1997’s Loaded, released on Black Market Records.
DJ Khaled‘s Victory fell 35 more spots, slowing the momentum of the respectable debut week sales. The release aims to clear 50,000 units next week.
50 Cent‘s Before I Self Destruct dipped 18 spots. The rapper, believed to be departing from his Interscope Records family, is at work on Black Magic and directing a video for Tony Yayo’s “Obama.”
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Notably absent from the Top 200 are Wu-Tang Clan emcee Inspectah Deck, Duck Down Records release Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx’s eXXecutioners, and Sadat X’s Wild Cowboys II.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 21 | Lil Wayne | Rebirth | 21,000 | 466,000 |
| 29 | Snoop Dogg | More Malice | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| 68 | Brotha Lynch Hung | Dinner and a Movie | 7,900 | 7,900 |
| 123 | DJ Khaled | Victory | 4,200 | 47,000 |
| 138 | 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct | 3,700 | 429,000 |
Will Army of Pharoahs’ legions of fans give the underground super-group a chart push? Will Erykah Badu or Usher take the Top spot? Will Justin Beiber make that possible? Can Wu-Massacre get a Top 10 debut? Stay tuned to next week at HipHopDX.
