Jay Z stays breaking records, literally. The rap superstar is not only seeing plenty of success with his single off Magna Carta Holy Grail, but he is also making Billboard history with the album. This week a few records were made by Hov, including the title of the most #1s in Billboard history-- and the rest you can read about below. So Hov really reps what he preaches, he really is all about the "new rules" (which include dropping the hyphen from his name, something which was implemented years ago but never took). With a new-born child, we find Hov re-focusing his music and also keeping in line with the name of the game-- constantly having that 'new new.' Jay is helping fans do that with his unprecedented roll out for MCHG, as well as the content itself, and how he's approaching it. For example, his music video for "Picasso Baby" will consist of footage from a live performance art piece by Hov (that lasted six hours straight). Pretty sure that's never been done before. There's no need to say much more than that, read the numbers and the facts below.
1) Jay Z—Magna Carta Holy Grail: Hov killed it opening week, even if one million fans already copped the album for free two days prior to the release. Jay without-the-hyphen Z moved 527,000 units in his debut week, which gives the New York native the second biggest opening week in 2013, only behind Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience. MCHG is also Jay’s 13th chart-topping album. More facts for you: This album makes Jay Z the solo artist with the most #1s in Billboard history (he beat out The Beatles!). It’s also the rapper’s best-selling opening week since his 2006 record Kingdom Come, which sold 680,000 copies when it debuted. Overall, MCHG’s debut numbers place the album fourth among Hov’s other album releases. It comes in behind The Dynasty Roc La Familia (558,000 in 2000), The Blueprint 2 (545,000 in 2002) and (once more) Kingdom Come. Interestingly enough, Jay called the new album his fourth best (behind Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint & The Black Album). Do you agree?
2) Ciara—Ciara: This came as a surprise to most when the numbers came in, but Ciara somehow crept in there and got a #2 debut, right under the H-O-V. Ciara’s self-titled album moved 58,000 units opening week, which are her best numbers since Fantasy Ride did 81,000 in 2009. We’ll have to see how long she’s able to stay afloat in charts that are rap-dominated these days.
3) J. Cole—Born Sinner: With the two new entries this week, J. Cole was pushed back to his #3 starting spot. The rapper saw a 32% decrease in sales, still moving 40,000 copies of Born Sinner over the past week.
4) Kanye West—Yeezus: Kanye West has also been pushed down the Billboard 200 this week because of new entries. The rapper dropped 26% in sales, moving 29,000 copies of Yeezus, dropping from #3 to #6, a few spots below Cole.
5) Wale—The Gifted: Wale’s dropped below Kanye West this week, with his MMG album coming in at #7 from the #2 last week. The rapper sold another 28,000 copies of his album, seeing a 44% decrease in sales.
6) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—The Heist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are still within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week, although having dropped two spots from last week, they come in at #10. The duo won’t stop, this is their 40th week on the charts. The Heist another 22k this week.
7) Justin Timberlake—The 20/20 Experience: Justin Timberlake’s album has barely fallen off since it’s debut, and JT is already gearing up to drop another installment of it in September. We’ll have to wait and see where The 20/20 Experience is on the charts by that time, but for now, the singer comes in at #13, dropping one spot from #12 last week. He still moved a solid 18,861 units.
8) Mac Miller—Watching Movies With The Sound Off: Mac falls off one spot this week, from #23 last week he comes in at #24. He’s been charting for four weeks. The rapper sold just under 10k, with a 26% decrease in sales.
In single news, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” with T.I. & Pharrell keeps the #1 spot locked on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, for the sixth week, while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us” stays at #2. Jay Z’s “Holy Grail” jumps all the way up from #35 on the songs chart to #3 in its second week, earning 196,000 downloads. For albums, Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city is still within the top 50 of the Billboard 200, although he dropped slightly from last week, now at #41. He still moved around 7k. Lil Wayne’s IANAHB2 dropped nine spots this week, at #53, after sixteen weeks.