This week on Charts Don’t Lie, R&B artists who infuse their music with hip hop collaborations and sounds continue to rule, however things are about to change as A$AP Rocky’s studio debut is projected to top the Billboard 200 next week. In the interim, we see the holdovers from 2012 selling solid with some of the best albums of the year still appearing on the charts. If you’re looking to find how the hip hop albums sold then veer your attention towards the bottom of the top 50 as three rap artists are there with one new-wave R&B sensation.
1) Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox: Bolstered by constant appearances, including hosting SNL, Bruno Mars’ latest project continues to sell with only a 25% drop off from last week’s sales. The cross-genre pop artist adds another 41,622 to his numbers.
2) T.I. – Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head: The Kang is back. Tip does not let up and has continued to make constant appearances and interviews pushing his somewhat ‘comeback’ album. Trouble man is No. 16 on Billboard, only dropping one spot. Expect this LP to hang around as more singles, especially those of the trap variety, are dropped.
3) Rihanna – Unapologetic: Rih Rih’s latest, may just be her best. She’s announced the next two singles, one is a pop record, the other is her Mike WiLL produced joint that is getting play already, and is her ode to stripclub anthems. Unapologetic stays steady at No. 8, and moves over 20k more units.
4) Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city: GKMC might not be overflowing with club bangers, but perhaps more than any album currently on the charts, has staying power. K.Dot’s studio debut holds strong at No. 23 on Billboard.
5) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Heist: Sales wise, this was the indie hip hop album of the year in ’12 and has popped back up for 2013. Dropping only 33% from last week, Heist racked up another 15,930 units pushed.
6) Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire: While Girl On Fire did not perform as well as Ms. Keys’ albums of the past, considering today’s sales climate, the album did very well. Unless she starts pumping out singles soon, don’t expect to see this album here next week.
7) Wiz Khalifa - O.N.I.F.C.: TGOD clings on and sells just over 10k last week. A huge drop off in sales, this album did feature Wiz returning to his roots, and is holding up at No. 42 on the Top 200.
Four more albums of note cracked the Top 50, and moved just under 10,000. Game’s Jesus Piece, which has underperformed on the charts, dropped 28% in sales, but holds steady at No. 43. The Weeknd's Trilogy, which only had three new joints, continues to make an appearance on Charts and was just one spot lower than Compton’s Game. The album that will not die, Based on a T.R.U. Story is hanging around again after coming back last week. Tity Boi is standing strong at No. 45.
It’s been hinted at by other artists, and Chief Keef has learned first hand that if you’re an artist on Interscope you better be ready to work on marketing your album yourself. One of the most anticipated debuts in awhile, on the heels of two massive street anthems, Finally Rich barely sticks around, appearing at No. 49 on Billboard’s Top 200.