This week on Charts Don't Lie some of the less consistent rappers have fallen off, while others prove they're on the charts for the long-term. We already knew Justin Timberlake would be here awhile, after he went platinum in very little time following his album's debut. However, there are some chart main-stays which we couldn't have predicted when the album initially dropped-- such as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist. Although Macklemore was crowned an XXL Freshmen of 2012, we don't think anyone would have assumed he'd be as big as he is right now, in such a fast amount of time. Nonetheless, it appears that this is what the Internet Age is able to offer the ever-growing amount of rappers-- it can make them famous almost over night. We've seen it again and again, from A$AP Rocky to Trinidad James. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis definitely benefited from this, however, it cannot be denied their appearances and catchy tunes played a factor. At this point though it seems like the snowball effect comes in to play, as their fan-base continues to grow bigger and bigger. Check out where they land on the charts this week, as well as other hip-hop and r'n'b artists, below.
1) Justin Timberlake—The 20/20 Experience: Justin Timberlake has finally fallen from grace, or at least, the #3 spot. The singer’s new album occupies the #6 spot this week, selling 65,971 copies. He’s only down 5% in sales though.
2) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—The Heist: Another week, another platinum certification for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. This week their new single “Can’t Hold Us” went double platinum, while their album dropped a few spots on the charts, but we’re sure it’ll climb back up again. The Heist comes in at #11 with 30,810 copies moved.
3) Lil Wayne—I Am Not A Human Being II: Weezy F only fell one spot last week, but this week he fell several more than one. IANAHB2 is sitting at #21, after moving around 18k over the past week.
4) Kid Cudi—INDICUD: Kid Cudi’s new album doesn’t seem to be cutting it when it comes to charting. The rapper’s latest release had a steep drop last week, and has another steep drop this week—coming in at #44, falling more than twenty spots. He pushed 9,856 copies off the shelves.
5) Kendrick Lamar—good kid, m.A.A.d city: The Compton native’s strong debut saw a sort of slow creep climb up the charts these past few weeks, but his rise back up may not last too long. This week the rapper comes in at #46, dropping from last week. Another 9,493 copies of GKMC landed in the hands of adoring fans this week.
6) Talib Kweli—Prisoner Of Conscious: Talib Kweli dropped his fifth studio album on May 7th. The album, which has received generally favourable reviews, did not do too well when it comes to charting. The veteran rapper’s album debuted on the Billboard 200 this week, at #48, just within the top 50. Talib managed to move 9,432 copies to get that spot.
In other news on the charts this week, the Jay-Z-executive-produced soundtrack for "The Great Gatsby" film debuted on the Billboard 200 at #2, with around 135k copies sold, although both the movie and soundtrack didn't receive the most positive of reviews. Those sitting below the top 50 on the Billboard 200 this week include Tyga, whose Hotel California album dropped to #66. Further below Tyga we find LL Cool J, with Authentic at #83. Finally, Snoop Lion's Reincarnated sits just within the top 100, at #98 after three weeks on the charts.