The past week brought Christmas, which undoubtedly brought sales in all departments, music or otherwise. However not all hip-hop artists were lucky enough to benefit from this Christmas season. Although B.o.B released his album Underground Luxury just in time to enjoy some holiday giving, his album fell completely flat, managing to debut at #22 this week on the Billboard 200, moving only 35k. Compare this to Strange Clouds which did 76k, or better yet, his debut album which moved 84k opening week, and it looks like Bobby Ray's fan base is waning. There were some artists who did see a sudden increase in sales and thus a rise on the charts because of the holidays though, among them Eminem, Drake, Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis all rose up several spots this week. Check out how much they moved below.
1) Beyonce—Beyonce : Queen Bey ruled the charts and the internet with her self-titled visual release. The reign continues on the #1 Billboard 200 spot. Beyonce sold another 347,000 in her second week out (now including the physical copies of her album), with total sales in just ten days of 991,000. She’s already gone platinum, not that we’re surprised.
2) Eminem— Marshall Mathers LP 2: Eminem finds himself back at the same spot he was in two weeks ago-- #6 on the Billboard 200. MMLP2 sold a strong 115,000 units over the past week, which bring Em’s sales up to 1,605,000.
3) R. Kelly— Black Panties: The Black Panties advocate debuted on the Billboard 200 last week, at #4. This week he’s dropped just over ten spots, now sitting comfortable at #15, after moving 60,000 copies. Kellz’ total sales are 194,000.
4) Justin Timberlake— The 20/20 Experience 2: With the holiday season in full swing, JT was able to move 45,000 units over the past week which brought him back up the charts to #19 after having fallen to #27. His total sales are 726,000.
5) Drake—Nothing Was The Same: Drizzy seems to have benefited from the spirit of giving, as his album NWTS rose up the charts this week to #20 and sold 37,000 units. His grand tally is 1,296,000.
6) B.o.B— Underground Luxury: Bobby Ray finds his Billboard 200 debut this week, and unfortunately the sales projections were correct and B.o.B only moved 35,000 of Underground Luxury. That places him at #22 on the Billboard 200. Were fans not feeling this one from the ATL rapper?
7) Childish Gambino—Because The Internet: Donald Glover was off to a relatively strong start with Because The Internet moving 96,000 units and debuting at #7 on the Billboard 200. Childish may not be able to maintain the momentum, as this week he moved 28,000 copies. Nonetheless it brings his total sales up to 124,000.
8) Justin Timberlake—The 20/20 Experience: The first instalment of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience has become a familiar face on Charts Don’t Lie. This week the singer moved another 17,000 units, which brought him up to #49 and brought his total sales (which have surpassed 2 million, by the way) up to 2,407,000.
9) Macklemore & Ryan Leiws—The Heist: More familiar faces on Charts, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis managed to move another 17k of their album off shelves over Christmas week, rising up to #50 from #66. Their total sales haven’t quite reached 2 million like JT, but nonetheless, we imagine they’ll get there soon. 1,210,000 as it stands now.
10) Yo Gotti— I Am: Mr. Gotti is one rapper who does not seem to have benefited from Christmas sales for his new album I Am. After falling to #79 last week, he continues his fall to #109 this week, selling 11k. His total sales are now 99,200.
2 Chainz B.O.A.T.S. II was at #107 last week, but this week he's fallen even steeper to #161. He sold 7.5k. Jay Z is following suit, with MCHG at #163 on the Billboard 200, also moving 7.5k. Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city remains close behind these two, at #171 having sold 7.2k over the past week.