Hip Hop has its first #1 debut of 2013. A$AP Rocky’s debut album Long.Live.A$AP earned the Harlem, New York emcee the coveted spot on the charts. This is also the first #1 Polo Grounds Music, the RCA label Rocky is signed to, which has previously released albums from Pitbull, Yo Gotti and Hurricane Chris.
The only other addition to the charts this week came courtesy of Christian Hip Hop vet Sho Baraka. The Lions & Liars label artist’s Talented 10th release, which features Tedashii and J.R.
Notably absent from the Top 200 was Nas’ Life Is Good, who missed the rankings for the first time since its summer release.
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Long.Live.A$AP Lives Up To Its Name On The Charts
Following appearances on T.I.’s Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head, Big Boi’s Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors and Usher’s Looking For Myself, the 24 year-old breakout star of the A$AP Mob found a benchmark first week with his own Long.Live.A$AP. The RCA/Polo Grounds release sold nearly 140,000 units earning the emcee a #1 spot – over 60,000 units ahead of Kidz Bop 23.
Rocky’s retail follow-up to 2011’s Live.Love.A$AP includes appearances from stars such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz, as well as a Internet-touted posse cut (“1 Train”) of digital stars such as Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, Big K.R.I.T. and Danny Brown. The album also boasts production from Noah “40” Shebib, Danger Mouse and Hit-Boy, with his mixtape collaborator Clams Casino. The album is backed off of single “Fuckin’ Problems.”
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With a wide-open week of January underway, this album may hold its spot for an encore.
Sho Baraka’s Talented 10th Knows How To Sell Chapters
116 Clique alum Sho Baraka’s third studio album, Talented 10th scored the Alberta, Canada-born Christian Rap star a #94 debut. The effort marks Baraka’s first album without Reach Records, where he found success on 2007’s Turn My Life Up and especially 2010’s Lions & Liars – a project he would subsequently name his label after.
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Talented 10th is broken into chapters (as songs), with “Chapter 9: Jim Crow” being the break-out single.
Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 1/20/2013
#1. A$AP Rocky – Long.Live.A$AP – 139,000 (139,000)
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#14. T.I. – Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head – 19,000 (330,000)
#15. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist– 18,000 (272,000)
#16. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city – 18,000 (657,000)
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#43. Wiz Khalifa – O.N.F.I.C. – 9,500 (289,000)
#56. Game – Jesus Piece – 7,200 (177,000)
#57. Chief Keef – Finally Rich – 7,100 (106,000)
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#59. 2 Chainz – Based On A T.R.U. Story – 6,800 (509,000)
#94. Sho Baraka – Talented 10th – 3,700 (4,000)
#134. Big Boi – Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors – 2,600 (59,000)
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* 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.
Will A$AP Rocky grab a second #1 with LongLiveA$AP? Check back next week on HipHopDX.
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