It's almost time for the ScHoolboy Q and Kid Cudi chart invasion, but not just yet. We received the first week sales projection for both rappers respective releases, Oxymoron and Satellite Flight, and both are on track to sell a solid amount of albums. Q is looking like he'll do some damage with 150,000-160,000 copies projected, and thus debut at #1 which definitely isn't a bad look, while Kid Cudi will come close behind with 90,000-95,000 copies. Cudder's projections prove just how strong and devouted his fanbase is-- the independent rapper released Satellite Flight with basically zero promo (he pulled a 'Beyonce'), and in addition, the album is only available on iTunes until April 29th. Thus moving 90-95k is quite the feat. Does it reflect the strength of the album itself? Let us know what you think. Read up on how other hip-hop artists fared this week below. Check back next week for Q & Cudi's numbers.
1) Beyonce— Beyonce: Beyonce got the charts on lock. The singer, who is starting to push her new single “Partition”, sold another 35,472 units over the course of this week, sitting at the #5 spot on the Billboard 200. She fell one spot since last week, while her total sales rose to 1,790,680.
2) Eminem— Marshall Mathers LP 2: Eminem’s album fell just one spot this week, down to #13 after charting for 16 weeks. The Detroit spitter sold a strong 18,845 copies of his album this week, with total sales continuing to approach the two million mark. This week his grand tally is 1,957,935.
3) John Legend—Love In The Future: For whatever reason, John Legend’s album (which was executive produced by Kanye West) continues its rise up the ranks. This week Love In The Future rose to #16, after spending 25 weeks on the charts. His album moved 15,564 units which is a drop in sales of 23%.
4) Justin Timberlake—The 20/20 Experience: Justin Timberlake’s second instalment may not be doing as well as the first, but that’s not saying much as the first did insurmountable numbers while this one continues to do fairly well. This week JT also rose up one spot, to #21. He moved slightly over 13,500 units.
5) Drake— Nothing Was The Same: Drizzy experienced a drop this week, from #16 to #22 right below Justin Timberlake. The rapper has spent 22 weeks on the Billboard 200, and sold another 13,104 copies of NWTS, with total sales at 1,477,929.
6) R. Kelly— Black Panties: R. Kellz’s Black Panties fell several spots this week to #28. The album moved under 10,000 copies, with a drop in sales of 44%. He’s been charting for 11 weeks.
7) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—The Heist: These two remained stagnant over the last seven days, keeping the #31 spot all to themselves. After spending an extensive 72 weeks on the charts, The Heist sold 9,864 units, with total sales 1,351,354.
8) Jhene Aiko—Sail Out EP: Even Jhene Aiko herself seems surprised at the success her Sail Out EP has seen—in an interview from this past week she iterated just that, explaining how no one, not even the label, was really expecting her/wanting her to put out a project, but she wanted to put something before 2013 was over. It was obviously a good move, as the EP continues to rise back up the Billboard 200. This week Ms. Aiko is at #32 rising up from #41. After 14 weeks of charting, she sold 9,387 units.
9) Kendrick Lamar—good kid, m.A.A.d city: While we await ScHoolboy Q’s imminent chart take-over, for now, we can take a look at K. Dot’s numbers. His debut album rose up again this week, from #43 to #35. He’s almost been charting as long as Macklemore, with 70 weeks down. GKMC moved 8,200 while the total sales are 1,191,408.
10) Kid Ink— My Own Lane: We weren’t sure if Ink’s album was going to continue a slow descent down the charts, but this week he’s back up at #49 from #58. The L.A. rapper sold 6,400 units of his debut album, with his total sales now 98,000.
11) Childish Gambino— Because The Internet: Childish’s album also saw a little creep back up the Billboard 200 this week. Because The Internet rose from #76 to #63, after spending 11 weeks on the charts. The rapper moved 5,300 units, while his grand tally is 223,000.
In related charts news, Yo Gotti's I Am comes in at #74 this week, which is a rise up since last week's #80. Gotti sold 4,500 copies this week with total sales of 152,000. We're still tracking Eminem's The Eminem Show as it charts, and this week it rose up yet again, breaking into the top 100 of the Billboard 200, sitting at #79. The Eminem Show sold 4,300 with total sales of 10,332,000. Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail clocks in at #106 this week, selling 3,400 copies while his total sales reached 1,130,000.
