We see two new entries when it comes to hip-hop on Charts Don't Lie this week. They belong to Odd Future's Earl Sweatshirt and A$AP Mob's A$AP Ferg. While both rappers moved respectable amounts, it gives us a moment to think about the whole ideas of crews in hip-hop, and how no matter what, there is always one rap leader who has to make an impression on the audience first. For OF, this is Tyler, The Creator, for A$AP Mob it's Rocky. Following their rise in popularity, they try to put on their friends, as rappers tend to do-- sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. For Ferg and Earl it seems to be working, although they have less of a fan-base (it reflects in their sales) as their rap counterparts, they're still doing well. Earl's been at it longer then Ferg, and thus he has a more devout following, which helped him nab the #5 debut for Doris. Nonetheless, Ferg gives Earl a little bit of competition, debuting below him at #9 with Trap Lord. It'll be interesting to see how other Mob members fare once they try to go the solo route, for now, see Ferg's numbers below, as well as our other chart-toppers this week. Next week get ready for Big Sean and Juicy J to take over the charts-- can you predict what their sales will look like?
1) Earl Sweatshirt— Doris: Earl Sweatshirt debuts on the Billboard 200 this week with his new album, Doris, which dropped August 20th. Although the album may show a different and more mature side of Earl, his fans haven’t neglected him, buying 49,000 copies of the album. This lands him at a #5 debut.
2) A$AP Ferg— Trap Lord: Fergenstein also debuted on the Billboard 200 this week, with his debut album, Trap Lord. The solo effort from the A$AP Mob rapper, which has spawned a few hits including “Shabba” and “Work,” did okay on the charts. Ferg debuts at #9, moving 32,000 units opening week.
3) Robin Thicke— Blurred Lines: Robin Thicke, who saw a few raised eyebrows this past week because of his performance at the VMAs with Miley Cyrus, didn’t hurt his album sales in so-doing. Thicke comes in at #6 on the charts, moving a strong 46,000 units—his total sales are at 337,00 units.
4) Jay Z— Magna Carta Holy Grail: This week Mr. H-O-V drops a few more spots, from last week’s #6 to #10. It’s a 23% drop in sales, but the rapper still moved another 28,849 units. We’re sure that 2x platinum announcement will be coming soon enough—he’s already at 912,000 units sold total.
5) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis— The Heist: These guys stay winning. After taking home Best Hip Hop Video and Best Video With A Social Message at the VMAs, their album The Heist was soon certified platinum. Apparently when they first dropped the LP they were hoping to break the 30k mark—they’ve definitely gone way above and beyond. This week the duo sold another 19,000 units, increasing their sales by 6%, which put them at 1,017,000 in total sales.
6) Justin Timberlake— The 20/20 Experience: JT is another winner. The singer can seemingly do no wrong, when it comes to his VMA performance, his new album, the second part of said album—people just embrace Justin. He sold another 15k this week, an increase in sales of 3% since last week. This week he dropped from #17 to #22.
7) J. Cole— Born Sinner: J. Cole continues to move copies of his album Born Sinner, but he’s also been dropping down the charts. Perhaps “Crooked Smile” as a radio single will give his LP another a boost, but for now the rapper comes in at #37 selling 9,000 copies this week, making his grand tally 579,000.
8) Kendrick Lamar— good kid, m.A.A.d city: K. Dot rise in popularity continues, as do his album sales of his debut with Aftermath/TDE. Although GKMC saw a drop this week from #36 (it seems the “Control” hysteria has died down), he still moved a good 8,000 units, coming in at #47.
9) Kanye West— Yeezus: Kanye West seemed like he’d fallen off for good last week, dropping all the way down to #61 on the Billboard 200. But this week, he’s back up once more, perhaps due to his newly announced single “Bound 2” as well as his performance of “Blood On The Leaves” at the VMAs. Yeezy saw a 16% increase in sales this week, bouncing him from #61 to #49, and moving 7,000 units. His total sales at this point are at 517,000.
MMG’s Wale is still charting with The Gifted, he actually saw an 8% increase in sales this week, moving just over 8k coming in at #44. As well, K. Michelle of “Love & Hip-Hop” dropped to #14 this week after debuting at #2 last week with Rebellious Soul. She sold another 23,000 copies though, making it 94,000 total. In single news, Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home” has now entered the Top 40 chart, at #30, and we have no doubt he’ll rise up the chart quickly.