Soulja Boy and Slim Thug crack the charts with lower numbers than many may have expected. Rick Ross teeters to gold, Nicki Minaj is right behind him, and Flo Rida misses the Top 200 altogether.
Kanye West went from #1 to #7 with his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Now officially gold, the album that was promoted through the revolutionary “G.O.O.D. Friday” leaks crossed the 600,000 unit mark. Praises continue to come in from publications and media about the emcee/producer’s fifth album.
The work features Raekwon, Pusha T, Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj. Recorded largely in Hawaii, the album features several themes that have garnered it critical praise.
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The Black Eyed Peas actually took #6. The group’s follow-up to last year’s The E.N.D., titled The Beginning, sold nearly 119,000 units in its first week. The will.i.am-led group’s sixth studio album continues their European club influence, maintaining work with David Guetta and DJ Ammo.
Potentially a week away from her first solo gold plaque, Nicki Minaj has held strong with her debut, Pink Friday. The Young Money album has sold just under 480,000 units in its two weeks available, as Minaj continues to do press appearances. Featuring both Nicki’s brand of singing and rapping, Pink Friday features will.i.am, Drake and Eminem.
Minaj collaborator Rihanna watched her Loud fall just four places in its third week on shelves. With features from Drake, Eminem and the aforementioned Nicki Minaj, Loud continues to attract fans through its multiple singles and happier themes compared to RiRi’s past albums.
Another Def Jam songstress, Jazmine Sullivan released her sophomore album, Love Me Back. Though the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native did use rapping on this album, she sought production from Nas’ longtime producer Salaam Remi and Chicago Hip Hop legend No I.D.
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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 |
| 6 | Black Eyed Peas | The Beginning | 119,000 | 119,000 |
| 7 | Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 108,000 | 605,000 |
| 8 | Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday | 103,000 | 479,000 |
| 10 | Rihanna | Loud | 77,000 | 425,000 |
| 26 | Jazmine Sullivan | Love Me Back | 57,000 | 57,000 |
Two southern releases both had difficult debuts on the charts.
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Houston, Texas veteran Slim Thug’s third album, Tha Thug Show debuted at #78. Released through E1 Entertainment, the Swishahouse rapper’s third studio album features B.o.B., Big K.R.I.T., Yo Gotti and summer verbal sparring partner, Rick Ross. Thug’s second album with the indie label follows a lot of success in last year’s critically heralded Boss of All Bosses.
Despite being one of Interscope Records’ flagship stars, Soulja Boy’s third album, The DeAndre Way, struggled to make the Top 80. With appearances by 50 Cent and SB’s artist Lil B The Based God (of The Pack), the album has shown some progression from the 2007 sensation’s past work.
Lloyd Banks‘ third solo album, H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger For More 2) sold another 12,000 units this week. With a gold single and high-profile appearances from Kanye West, 50 Cent, Raekwon and Eminem (on the iTunes version), Banks’ acclaimed comeback album passed the 50,000 mark.
Speaking of gold, Miami, Florida’s Rick Ross sits less than 700 units away from a gold plaque for his critically-acclaimed fourth album, Teflon Don. The Def Jam album features work from Jay-Z, Kanye West and Cee Lo Green.
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Wayne’s former protege, Curren$y watched his second album of the year cross the 15,000 mark. Pilot Talk II, released on Damon Dash’s imprint through Def Jam distribution, features Raekwon and Spitta’s former No Limit label-mate Fiend.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 78 | Slim Thug | Tha Thug Show | 14,000 | 14,000 |
| 79 | Soulja Boy | The DeAndre Way | 13,000 | 13,000 |
| 90 | Lloyd Banks | H.M.F.2 (The Hunger For More 2) | 12,000 | 56,000 |
| 108 | Rick Ross | Teflon Don | 8,200 | 499,000 |
| 178 | Curren$y | Pilot Talk II | 3,800 | 18,000 |
Will T.I. take the charts back with a locked-up #1? Can Redman score a Top 10? Stay tuned to HipHopDX.
