This week we have two new-comers on Charts Don't Lie, the first being buzzing singer Jhene Aiko and the latter, veteran in the game, Bun B. Jhene Aiko pulled pretty good numbers for her debut EP, leaving us hopeful for what's to come from the West Coast native. Her buzz will only continue to climb leading up to the release of her debut album, Soul(ed) Out, and so dropping the EP was definitely a good look for the singer. The EP was projected to move 25-30k, but surpassed 30k with 33,000 units opening week. On the other hand, our OG in the game, Bun B, didn't pull quite such impressive numbers. The underground king seems to have stayed in the underground with Trill OG: The Epliogue, as he moved less than 15,000. It's not like we're used to seeing Bun B move enormous amounts, but, these sales still pale in comparison to the rest of the Trill series-- his Trill debut moved 118,000 units opening week back in 2005. Since then, his sales have been on a steady decline. Is the Trill OG falling into irrelevancy, a fate that transpires with many OG rappers? This is most definitely NOT the case with Eminem, especially since every time he drops a new album all his old efforts pop back up on the charts. MMLP2 managed to hit platinum in its second week, while MMLP and other Em albums continue to chart on the Billboard 200. Check out the numbers Eminem did this week, along with other rap and r'n'b artists below.
1) Eminem—The Marshall Mathers LP 2: Eminem hits platinum with MMLP2 within his second week. The rapper has now surpassed 1 milly in sales, by moving 210,068, for a grand total of 1,003,236. He wasn’t able to hold on to the #1 spot though, with Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP taking that spot, Em fell to #2. He dropped in sales by 73%.
2) Jhene Aiko— Sail Out EP: Jhene Aiko is definitely buzzing, and her new EP performed quite well opening week. The singer managed to debut at #8, selling a solid 33,895 for her debut retail release. We’ll have to see how well she maintains in the following weeks.
3) Drake—Nothing Was The Same: NWTS continues to hold on, dropping from #7 to #9 this week. After charting for eight weeks Drake still sold 33,000 units. His grand total is 1,099,000, dropping only 12% in sales from last week.
4) Justin Timberlake—The 20/20 Experience 2: Justin Timberlake’s 2 of 2 fell two spots this week, down to #17. The singer dropped in sales by 13%, moving just under 18k this week.
5) Bun B—Trill OG: The Epilogue: Bun B’s Epilogue in his Trill OG series debuted on the Billboard 200 this week at #30. Released on Rap-A-Lot Records, the album sold around 12,371 units over the past seven days. In comparison, his 2010 album, Trill OG, sold a more solid amount of 39,838 opening week and debuted at #4.
6) John Legend— Love In The Future: The G.O.O.D. Music singer continues to fare pretty well on the Billboard 200 with Love In The Future. This week the album actually climbed back up more than ten spots, to #35. He increased in sales by 18% and sold 9,467 copies after charting for eleven weeks.
7) 2 Chainz— B.O.A.TS. II: #METime: Well, it looks lik Tity 2 Necklace is making a come-back on the Billboard 200 with B.O.A.T.S. II. This week the sophomore album sky-rocketed back up the charts, from #122 to #45. We’re not sure why that happened, but nonetheless it’s good for 2 Chainz, who sold another 8,000 this week bringing his total up to 165,000.
8) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis— The Heist: Good news for everyone sick of these two: they’re taking a hiatus. However, that doesn’t mean that The Heist is taking a hiatus from the Billboard 200. The album dropped from #50 to #53 this week, selling 7,000 units, with total sales of 1,139,000.
9) Eminem—The Marshall Mathers LP: Yup, the first Mathers LP is still charting. After rising up to #30 last week, the album has dropped again this week to #58. The album sold 7k as well, which isn’t bad for an LP that’s thirteen years old. The total sales for this classic are a whopping 10,773,000.
10) Lecrae— Church Clothes Vol. 2: Lecrae’s free project and iTunes release, Church Clothes Vol. 2, debuted at #21 but dropped down to #61 this week. Considering the independent Christian rapper was giving away the project for free, that’s not too bad.
Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail sold 6,000 units this past week, dropping to #74 on the charts. Right below Jay is independent rapper Chris Webby’s Homegrown album, which managed to debut at #75. Even further down is M.I.A.’s recent release Matangi, which fell to #90 after debuting at #23. Pusha T’s MNIMN sold another 4k this week, dropping to #128 with total sales of 122,000. DJ Khaled’s Suffering From Success is almost completely off the Billboard 200 at this point, at #169, selling only 3k, after charting for only four weeks. Interestingly enough, The Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill has re-entered the Billboard 200 at #177, perhaps because of Eminem’s recent and frequent references to the OG crew?