This week's Charts Don't Lie finds Kendrick Lamar sitting atop the list for good reason. His debut album moved impressive amounts for a hip-hop album, and landed at #2, if it wasn't for Taylor Swift's enormous teen fan base, maybe we would have seen an emcee at #1. Either way, it's good to see fans supporting hip-hop artists. While other hip-hoppers are seeing only a decline after an initial surge, it makes us wonder how an artist can keep their buzz going week after week and continue to chart (2 Chainz) versus one who is only on the decline immediately after debuting atop the charts (MGK, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis). Does an artist need to take a 2 Chainz-approach to the game, by hopping on any and everyone's song to maintain a buzz or will talent suffice?
1) Kendrick Lamar- good kid, m.A.A.d city: Kendrick Lamar released his debut album on October 22nd to critical acclaim, and it seems the fans also enjoyed it. K. Dot got tons of support on the LP, moving an impressive 242, 122 units opening week, doing even better than projected. The good kid was outdone for the #1 spot on the charts by pop and country singer Taylor Swift, therefore he grabbed #2.
2) Brandy- Two Eleven: Brandy's come-back album was surprisingly high on the charts last week, the r'n'b singer landed at #3. This week she's moved down to #10, having sold 20,879 copies in the past week.
3) Miguel- Kaleidoscope Dream: People are still having Kaleidoscope Dreams of Miguel, although the singer did move down the charts this week, after rising up briefly last week. His RCA album dropped to #16 as his album sales have decreased over the past week. However he still pulled 17,790 copies off the shelves.
4) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- The Heist: With their impressive opening week, it may be slightly disappointing to see the duo's steep decline on the charts in a matter of a few weeks. Last week they were just barely able to stay in the top ten, and now Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have dropped much further down the list, sitting at #33 this week. The duo only moved around 10k in sales over the week.
5) Various Artist- The Man With The Iron Fists Soundtrack: RZA put together an array of artists, including a lot of hip-hop, for the all original soundtrack to the Quentin Tarentino-directed film The Man With The Iron Fists. The OST dropped on October 23rd, and was able to make the charts, although nearing the bottom half, at #36. The soundtrack, which was released prior to the film, sold less than 10k, with 9,987 units precisely. We'll have to see if sales pick up after the move hits theaters on November 6th.
6) Machine Gun Kelly- Lace Up: The momentum for MGK's debut continues to go on the decline, as we saw last week. The LP drops from #22 all the way down to #44 this week, with 9,169 pieces moved off the shelves. After barely being out for a month, we'll have to see how well this album holds up in the long term. It's not looking too good.
Although 2 Chainz and G.O.O.D. Music didn't make the list this week, they are both still moving similar amounts of units (around 11k) and ranking on the charts right beside each other at #28 and #29 respectively. In a week we'll be getting the results of another big album, Meek Mill's Dreams & Nightmares, which is projected to move around 200k, but Hurricane Sandy may have an effect on the sales, so you'll have to check back for that.