There are only two new entries within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week, and they belong to two rappers: ScHoolboy Q and Kid Cudi. As we said last week, Q was projected to move 150-160k, but fell slightly under that by moving 138,950 copies opening week. This was nevertheless an extremely strong showing from the TDE rapper, which gave him his first #1 debut as well as that of the label's. Not to mention, it’s quite the spike in sales since Q’s 2012 digital project Habits & Contradictions, which moved 3,900 copies opening week and debuted on the Billboard 200 way down at #111. While there is an extreme difference in sales between the two LPs, there was also an extreme difference in promotion and hype-- Oxymoron received way more hype and anticipation, part of which may be due to the many pushbacks, but whatever the case, it obviously worked. Our second rapper to consider this week, Kid Cudi, also accomplished quite the feat. He dropped his album strictly online, by complete surprise, and his fans still came out in hoards to purchase the iTunes release. Although his first week sales were still slightly below the projected 90-95k, 87,112 units isn't bad at all.
1) ScHoolboy Q— Oxymoron: ScHoolboy Q finally made his debut on the Billboard 200 this week, with strong first week sales from Oxymoron. The album moved 138,950 copies in the first week, slightly under the projected sales, but still strong enough to nab him the #1 spot on the charts. This album also serves as TDE’s first #1 debut.
2) Kid Cudi— Satellite Flight: Cudi proved that he has an extremely loyal fanbase when he dropped his Satellite Flight: The Journey To Mother Moon by surprise. The album was only available on iTunes (physical copies will be available on April 29th), yet it still sold 87,122 units opening week, and gave Cudder the #4 debut on the Billboard 200.
3) Beyonce— Beyonce: Beyonce’s experimental visual release has been pushed down several spots this week, thanks to Q and Cudder. The album comes in at #10 (dropping from #5) after having moved 32,000 copies this past week. Her total sales are 1,823,000.
4) Eminem— The Marshall Mathers LP 2: Eminem’s MMLP2 also saw a bit of drop this week, from #13 to #17, after spending 17 weeks on the charts. The Detroit rapper sold 17,662 copies bringing his total sales up to 1,975,597.
5) Drake—Nothing Was The Same: Drizzy Drake moved 12,000 copies this past week, while his album fell three spots from #22 to #25. The Toronto native brought his total sales up to 1,490,000 after charting for 23 weeks strong.
6) Justin Timberlake— The 20/20 Experience 2: JT’s RCA album comes in right below Drake this week, occupying the #26 spot, falling from #21. The singer sold 10,923 copies of the LP which is a 20% drop compared to last week.
7) Jhene Aiko—Sail Out EP: The beautiful songstress Jhene Aiko continues to surprise us with the sales of her extended play. While it disappeared from Charts Don’t Lie for a minute, it returned in full force. The album dropped just one spot since last week, coming in at #33. After 15 weeks of charting, she sold slightly over 9,000 units, down by only 4%.
8) R. Kelly— Black Panties: R. Kelly may have announced the follow-up to Black Panties this week (White Panties, obviously), but the original is still charting. This week the r’n’b singer finds himself at #34, dropping from #28. The singer moved around 8,723 units.
9) Kendrick Lamar—good kid, m.A.A.d city: K. Dot’s debut album dropped a few spots this week, but remains within the Billboard 200’s top 50. Coming in at #38, the rapper moved 8,300 units and brought his grand tally up to 1,200,000. He’s been charting for 71 weeks now.
10) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis—The Heist: Bet you guys thought you almost got away with a Charts Don’t Lie sans Macklemore…But no. The duo are right below Kendrick this week, with the #40 spot locked, dropping down from #31. The Heist sold 8,100 units over the last seven days, while total sales are 1,359,000.
