In the weekly-round-robin of rankings, it was Bruno Mars that surged ahead. After a Grammy performance with label-mates B.o.B. and Janelle Monae, Mars’ Doo Wops & Hooligans re-entered the Top 5. The annual Grammy compilation album, which includes Mars, B.o.B. and Goodie Mob member Cee Lo Green, also climbed for spots, nearly reaching the 150,000 mark.
Another Grammy performer and winner, Eminem and his Recovery, climbed a spot. The rapper ended the week by shooting a video for “Space Bound,” co-starring former adult film sensation Sasha Grey.
Nicki Minaj fell five spots with Pink Friday, the only act of the pack that need make a Grammy performance or snag an award.
Despite Grammy support and a long-legged NBA All-Star game performance alongside Kanye West and Drake, Rihanna’s Loudfell two more sports from the previous week.
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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 |
| 5 | Bruno Mars | Doo Wops & Hooligans | 61,000 | 727,000 |
| 6 | Eminem | Recovery | 61,000 | 3,634,000 |
| 7 | Various Artists | 2011 Grammy Nominees | 56,000 | 149,000 |
| 9 | Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday | 46,000 | 1,127,000 |
| 10 | Rihanna | Loud | 45,000 | 976,000 |
Lil Wayne‘s digital-turned-physical 2010 release I Am Not A Human Being climbed eight spots to close out the Top 25.
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Down 11 places from last week was Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The platinum album remains a constant Top 10 and Top 20 performer week-to-week. Last week, ‘Ye released the Hype Williams-directed video for “All of the Lights,” featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi.
T.I.‘s No Mercy slid eight more spots to #43. The emcee and label owner’s latest album was released while he was incarcerated for probation violations earlier this year, involving drugs. The latest album from Tip features Kid Cudi, Scarface and Rocko, with production by DJ Toomp, Kanye West and Jake One.
After seven-plus years in the making, New York’s Saigon finally released his proper studio album, The Greatest Story Never Told. Created and conceptualized on Atlantic Records, Kottonmouth Kings’ Suburban Noize imprint worked with Sai to acquire the release rights to the album which sold 11,000 first-week units. Despite being on the independent label, the critically-heralded work still includes appearances by Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz, Black Thought, as well as production from Just Blaze and Kanye West. The album’s FYE physical version includes a second CD with five unreleased songs.
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After her Grammy moment, Atlantic’s Janelle Monae climbed back on the charts with her critically-acclaimed The Archandroid. The Diddy and Big Boi protege – and DXnext alum new sits just above 140,000 overall units.
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total | |
| 25 | Lil Wayne | I Am Not A Human Being | 21,000 | 770,000 | |
| 36 | Kanye West |
| 17,000 | 1,032,000 | |
| 43 | T.I. | No Mercy | 15,000 | 440,000 | |
| 58 | Saigon | The Greatest Story Never Told | 11,000 | 11,000 | |
| 171 | Janelle Monae | The Archandroid | 3,900 | 141,000 |
Can Joell Ortiz get love on his sophomore album, Free Agent? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.
