Jay-Z [click to read] still owned the charts this week, holding a consecutive #1 spot in a year that’s proven hard to do so. Blueprint 3 [click to read] crossed the gold record line and heads quickly towards platinum, as Hova continues to do press with late night television shows, the BBC and urban radio. Right behind Jay, Whitney Houston climbed the charts from #3 to #2, also crossing the gold benchmark, as the veteran singer also does top press spots for I Look To You.
The new stars of Universal Records, Kid Cudi [click to read] and Drake also flooded the top of the charts. Cudi‘s debut long-player Man On The Moon: The End of Day [click to read] scanned just over six figures, with its executive production from Kanye West. The acclaimed album also features narration by Common. Cudi‘s ’08 classmate, Drake, released selections from his winter ’09 So Far Gone mixtape [click to listen] to the masses an EP. Best Buy had the effort priced at $6.99, and included the Canadian star’s hits, “Successful” and “Best I Ever Had” as well as “Fear” [click to listen] which acknowledges one-time peers Little Brother and Slum Village. The EP sold just over 73,000 copies last week. Lil Boosie [click to read] also walked away with a #7 debut-week position. The Baton Rouge rapper released his latest, Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz [click to read] through Warner/Asylum/Trill, and scanned just under 50,000 debut weeks.
* please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.
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Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)
| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 1 | Jay-Z | Blueprint 3 | 298,000 | 774,000 |
| 2 | Whitney Houston | I Look To You | 156,000 | 554,000 |
| 4 | Kid Cudi | Man On The Moon: The End Of Day | 104,000 | 104,000 |
| 6 | Drake | So Far Gone | 73,000 | 74,000 |
| 7 | Lil Boosie | Superbad: The Return Of Boosie Bad Azz | 49,000 | 49,000 |
Raekwon [click to read] inches closer to 100,000 with his fourth solo effort, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 [click to read]. Released through Chef‘s own Ice Water imprint, he was backed and distributed by the ’09-secret success story, EMI Records. The album is Rae‘s most elaborate to date, with Dr. Dre, RZA, Erick Sermon, Alchemist, J Dilla, Pete Rock and Marley Marl all contributing production.
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Eminem dipped his almost mandatory weekly-two more spots to #32 with his Relapse [click to read], an album that may reach 1.5 million units sold before October.
Veteran outfits Trick Daddy [click to read] and a collaborative album from KRS-One & Buckshot [click to read] both cracked the charts. Finally Famous scanned just over 13,000 units, while the Duck Down Records release Survival Skills [click to read] sold just under 9,000. The effort serves as a Boot Camp Clik reunion with Mary J Blige. Between the two, Cali teen duo the New Boyz [click to read] debuted with a five-figure performance with Skinny Jeanz & A Mic [click to read].
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| Rank | Artist | Album | This Week | Est. Total |
| 22 | Raekwon | Only Built For Cuban Linx 2 | 21,000 | 89,000 |
| 31 | Eminem | Relapse | 14,000 | 1,438,000 |
| 34 | Trick Daddy | Finally FamousL Born A Thug, Still A Thug | 13,000 | 13,000 |
| 56 | New Boyz | Skinny Jeanz & A Mic | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 200 | KRS-One & Buckshot | Survival Skills | 8,400 | 8,600 |
How will Brother Ali perform with Us? Stay tuned to HipHopDX to find out.
