Eminem‘s Relapse [click to read] shattered expectations, and eclipsed 600,000 units sold in its first week. Earlier this week, HipHopDX revealed that the Aftermath/Interscope giant was predicted to sell half of those units through Best Buy alone. Em also beat #2 artist this week, Green Day, by over 430,000 units.
The “Super Tuesday,” as some Rap fans and critics billed it, yielded two more Top 10 debuts. Redman & Method Man‘s [click to view] sequel, Blackout 2 [click to read], sold approximately 63,000 first week. The Def Jam release, featuring production from veterans such as Havoc, Pete Rock and Erick Sermon, surprised some with its Top 5 debut.
Universal Motown acquistion Busta Rhymes [click to read] debuted two positions back, with his Back On My B.S. [click to read] release, which has been garnering mixed reviews.
Neo-Soul songstress Chrisette Michele [click to read] fell 12 spots in one week with her Epiphany release. Rick Ross [click to read] slipped from Top 10 to Top 25 overall as well. Deeper Than Rap [click to read]sold another 20,000 copies, fast approaching 300,000 overall sales.
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* please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 1 | Eminem | Relapse | 608,000 | 609,000 |
| 4 | Redman & Method Man | Blackout 2 | 63,000 | 63,000 |
| 6 | Busta Rhymes | Back On My B.S. | 59,000 | 59,000 |
| 20 | Chrisette Michele | Epiphany | 21,000 | 134,000 |
| 22 | Rick Ross | Deeper Than Rap | 20,000 | 290,000 |
DJ Drama [click to read] did not debut in the Top 25 with his own sequel to Gangsta Grillz. The Grand Hustle release came the same week as T.I.‘s farewell concerts, and subsequent prison sentence.
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Cam’ron‘s [click to read] Crime Pays [click to read] received first week analysis that the Diplomats CEO sold just 100 units more than longtime “Cappo” Jim Jones. In his second weej, Cam sold another 15,000, placing the Harlem veteran at 58,000 overall.
Jadakiss [click to read] fell to #47 with The Last Kiss [click to read]. The album has market analyists [click to read] and critics alike talking. The release heads towards 300,000 units overall.
Both Freeway [click to read] and Sheek Louch [click to read] made noise on the charts, with low-budget releases on indie labels, Philadelphia Freeway 2 [click to read] and Life On D-Block. Both releases, which each sold impressively just under the 5,000 mark, came courtesy of Real Talks Entertainment.
Other Notables
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 26 | DJ Drama | Gangsta Grillz: The Album, Volume 2 | 18,000 | 18,000 |
| 35 | Cam’ron | Crime Pays | 15,000 | 58,000 |
| 47 | Jadakiss | The Last Kiss | 11,000 | 269,000 |
| 98 | Freeway | Philadelphia Freeway 2 | 5,200 | 5,300 |
| 121 | Sheek Louch | Life On D-Block | 4,300 | 4,300 |
Will Eminem go platinum by week 2? Stay on HipHopDX to know.
