As many experts predicted, Drake is the latest Rap artist to achieve a #1 debut. The Young Money/Cash Money rapper’s “official” first album,Thank Me Lateredged out Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ latest by a margin of over 320,000 units. The Toronto born rapper’s album was just over 50,000 short of a gold debut, as predicted by HitsDailyDouble.com. Thank Me Later features appearances by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, T.I. and Young Jeezy. The bulk of the album’s production is handled by Drake’s longtime producer Boi-1da, who may get back-to-back #1’s, with next week’s Eminem Recovery album.
Usher‘s Raymond v. Raymondfell one spot to #13. The veteran Pop entertainer’s “divorce album” is marching its way to a platinum plaque for Mr. Raymond and his longtime backer, LaFace Records.
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Spots #17 through #19 were taken by B.o.B., Plies andThe Black Eyed Peas respectively. The Adventures of Bobby Ray will be officially over halfway to a gold plaque next week, while the year-old E.N.D. aims at possibly reaching triple platinum. Goon Affiliated pushes its way towards 100,000 sold for the Florida sensation.
* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 1 | Drake | Thank Me Later | 447,000 | 447,000 |
| 13 | Usher | Raymond v. Raymond | 29,000 | 850,000 |
| 17 | B.o.B. Presents | The Adventures of Bobby Ray | 20,000 | 249,000 |
| 18 | Plies | Goon Affiliated | 20,000 | 76,000 |
| 19 | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. | 19,000 | 2,609,000 |
Damian Marley & Nas‘ Distant Relatives slid to #37. The Universal Republic/Def Jam Records collaborative release has garnered huge critical acclaim in the Rap community for its rich commentary on the parallel relationship between Hip Hop and Reggae. Lil Wayne, K’Naan, Dennis Brown and Joss Stone appear on the work produced by Damian and brother Stephen. Meanwhile, Ludacris gained two notches with Battle of the Sexes.
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One of the bigger surprises for the week was Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach. Having been out nearly four months, the Virgin Records release climbed 59 spots on the chart. The surge is perhaps due to the third single “Rhinstone Eyes” reaching Rock radio rotation. The album includes appearances by Mos Def, De La Soul and Snoop Dogg. Drake also gained 18 spots with his retail mixtape, So Far Gone. The 2009 free mixtape-turned-album sits 15,000 away from gold certification, making Drake likely to receive two plaques in the same month.
Lil Jon fell another 50-plus spots with his Crunk Rock. After a poor debut week, the So So Def deejay-turned-Crunk star’s album delays may have impacted his popularity, as well as a label change to Universal Republic.
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 37 | Nas & Damian Marley | Distant Relatives | 11,000 | 125,000 |
| 39 | Ludacris | Battle of the Sexes | 11,000 | 462,000 |
| 51 | Gorillaz | Plastic Beach | 7,800 | 282,000 |
| 76 | Drake | So Far Gone | 6,100 | 485,000 |
| 112 | Lil Jon | Crunk Rock | 4,700 | 14,000 |
Will Eminem and The Roots go #1 and #2 next week? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to see…
