This was the most exciting week to date on the charts this year for the Hip Hop community. There were four new additions, fresh off of last week’s two, including a Top 3 debut by Kid Cudi’s third album, a collaborative release with Dot Da Genius, as WZRD. Also appearing are Brooklyn veteran Maino, Oakland Hip Hop pioneer Too Short, and the first album from Ja Rule in seven-and-a-half years.
Kid Cudi’s WZRD Casts A Spell On The Charts
Cudi and Dot’s WZRD sold over 66,000 units. The self-produced Universal Motown Records project featuring Empire Of The Sun and Desire landed at #2. Last week, Cudi criticized his label for reportedly under-shipping CD copies, limiting the release’s potential. This is Cudi’s third overall album, and a first release for Dot Da Genius.
Maino’s Day After Tomorrow Outsells Ja Rule’s PIL2
Two longtime New York rappers released projects after lengthy hiatuses yesterday. Maino’s first album in nearly three years found the Brooklyn rapper after leaving his major label Atlantic Records deal. Now the E1/Hustle Hard artist scored a Top 100 debut for his sophomore album.Day After Tomorrow featured T.I. and Meek Mill, along with a Best Buy exclusive version boasting appearances by Lloyd Banks and Clinton Sparks’ production. Maino’s sales over doubled those of former Murder Inc./Def Jam star Ja Rule. Now incarcerated, the Queens, New Yorker’s first album since 2004’s R.U.L.E. cleared 3,000 units. A sequel to his 2001Pain Is Love album, Ja’s follow-up was largely produced by longtime collaborator 7 Aurelius. This is Rule’s first album away from Def Jam, released by Mpire and distributed by Universal Fontana.
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Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 3/4/2012
#2 WZRD (Kid Cudu & Dot Da Genius) – WZRD – 66,000 (66,000)
#4. Tyga – Careless World: Rise Of The Last King – 37,000 (99,000)
#5. Drake – Take Care – 29,000 (1,525,000)
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#19. Young Jeezy – TM 103: Hustler’s Ambition – 15,000 (493,000)
#20. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne – 15,000 (1,364,000)
#28. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV – 13,000 (2,039,000)
#43. Chiddy Bang – Breakfast – 11,000 (42,000)
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#76. Maino –Day After Tomorrow – 6,300 (6,300)
#99. Too Short – No Tresspassing – 4,600 (4,600)
#145. Ja Rule – PIL2 (Pain Is Love 2) – 3,200 (3,200)
* data comes from Nielsen Soundscan, rounded to nearest thousandth for units above 10,000, nearest hundredth for units below 10,000. Each week, HipHopDX presents top albums in Hip Hop/related, and five notables.
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Will The Alchemist’s instrumental album Rapper’s Best Friens 2 crack the charts? Can DJ Premier & Bumpy Knuckles EP StOoDiOtYmE hit the charts? Stay tuned to HipHopDX.
