One of the year’s biggest commercial surprises is officially Seattle, Washington’s Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The pair’s The Heist, a self-released album, earned a #2 debut on the charts. Moreover, the latest in a series of EP and LP releases dating back a decade was within striking distance of the top of the charts, losing only to Mumford & Sons. Also in the Top 5 was Machine Gun Kelly with his own full-length debut on the Bad Boy imprint, Lace Up.
Macklemore achieved a feat that veteran star Xzibit could now. The comeback album from the longtime Likwit Crew and Dr. Dre affiliate debuted at #140, with high-profile guests including the aforementioned. The third new edition came courtesy of a Best Buy exclusive release of XXL magazine, which included two CDs of music from Hip Hop stars. This is the latest in a series of albums the veteran publication has released since 2005.
Last week’s news-maker DJ Drama, fell 60 spots with Quality Street Music. Meanwhile, Skyzoo, Kutt Calhoun and Z-Ro, who all delivered Top 200 albums, left the rankings after just one week each.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Take MGK’s Lace Up By Heist
The Heist notably out-sold Bad Boy Records sensation Machine Gun Kelly and Lace Up by over 25,000 records. Macklemore, approaching 30, has a career dating back to the late ’90s within the Seattle underground. His latest self-released effort sold an astounding 78,000 copies, and features appearances from Black Hippy’s Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q over Ryan’s production.
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Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly followed his March EP with his Lace Up full-length. Part of Bad Boy’s face-lift over the last year, the Cleveland, Ohio native received assistance from DMX, Waka Flocka Flame and Tech N9ne. Respectably, MGK cracked the 50,000 mark in his debut week.
Xzibit Drops Napalm
Following a six-year hiatus from album-making, Xzibit released Napalm last week. The emcee/actor/television personality released the album through his own EMI-backed Open Bar imprint, and returned to his late ’90s style from the Loud Records days. X-to-the-Z enlisted Dr. Dre, The Alkaholiks, King Tee and E-40 on his seventh studio album, while also involving newer acts like Game, Bishop Lamont and Slim The Mobster. In addition to Dre producing “Louis XIII,”Akon, Rick Rock and Saukrates contributed music to the effort. Debuting at #140, this marks the lowest debut in X’s 16-year career, selling just over 3,000 copies.
Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/14/2012
#2. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist – 78,000 (78,000)
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#4. Machine Gun Kelly (as MGK) – Lace Up – 51,000 (51,000)
#20. G.O.O.D. Music – Cruel Summer – 18,000 (306,000)
#31. 2 Chainz – Based On A T.R.U. Story – 13,000 (330,000)
#36. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 – 10,000 (121,000)
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#63. Rick Ross – God Forgives, I Don’t– 7,200 (432,000)
#75. DJ Drama – Quality Street Music – 6,100 (30,000)
#124. Nas – Life Is Good – 3,600 (313,000)
#140. Xzibit – Napalm – 3,200 (3,200)
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#161. XXL (Best Buy Edition) 2,700 (2,700)
* 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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