Last week we saw r'n'b/pop take over the Billboard 200, and this week we finally see the return of rap to some of the top spots within the Billboard 200. Impressively, G-Eazy's third studio album comes in highest this week nabbing the #3 spot. Obviously his grind is starting to pay off, as the independent artist sold 46,000 units opening week, basically matching the numbers Fif's Animal Ambition did (he did 47k, to be precise). Following behind G-Eazy is TDE's lyrical MC Ab-Soul. While his rhymes are well-respected, his fan base hasn't quite reached the status of his counterparts ScHoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar. Still, his sales are improving with each release, so that means something. This time around he more than tripled the sales of his last project Control System (which moved 5,300 units and peaked at #91 on the 200). Finally, Riff Raff joins the Billboard fun with Neon Icon managing to enter at #22. See more details on each release below.
1) G-Eazy— These Things Happen: G-Eazy’s made a very solid debut this week, with his new album These Things Happen coming in at #3 on the Billboard 200, topping his fellow rap entries from the past week, including Ab-Soul. The new LP moved 46,000 units opening week.
2) Ab-Soul— These Days...: Soulo is another new entry on the Billboard 200, with the TDE release These Days... debuting at #11. Ab-Soul was able to sell 22,000 copies in the first week, which is more than double the debut numbers of his last release, Control System.
3) Michael Jackson— Xscape: MJ’s posthumous release continues to fly off the shelves, with 14,387 copies sold this week. This brings Michael Jackson’s total sales up to 338,954.
4) Iggy Azalea— The New Classic: Iggy Azalea made the news recently when she knocked herself out of the 1st spot on the Hot 100, only to replace herself at the #1 spot. All the while, her debut album continues to do impressive numbers, moving 14,087 units and remaining stagnant at #19. Her total sales are currently 206,254.
5) Riff Raff— Neon Icon: Riff Raff’s long-delayed debut album finally hit stores and the web on June 24th, the same day as Ab-Soul’s These Days... However Riff wasn’t quite able to keep up with Ab-Soul’s numbers (or G-Eazy’s for that matter), moving 11,524 units he debuted at #22.
6) Jennifer Lopez— A.K.A.: J. Lo’s comeback album did somewhat lacklustre numbers in the first week it dropped, and the second week hasn’t seen any improvements. A.K.A. dropped down from a #8 debut to #31 this week, selling 8,607 copies. Total sales are 41,502.
7) Pharrell Williams— G I R L: Pharrell’s album has been charting for 17 weeks while it creeps down the Billboard 200. This week it made the slight drop from #32 to #37, after selling 7,478 copies. His total sales are up to 451,981.
8) 50 Cent— Animal Ambition: Fif’s latest endeavor, Animal Ambition, fell more than ten spots to #39. After 4 weeks on the Billboard 200, 50 moved 7,200 units, with total sales of 81,136.
9) Eminem— The Marshall Mathers LP 2: Eminem’s MMLP2 is making its descent down the Billboard 200, after a long period within the top 50. This week the album falls to #60, moving 5,486 units. In it’s 34th week of charting, the album has sold 2,146,000. R’n’b singer
August Alsina was almost off the radar last week with Testimony at #107, but this week his debut album saw a spike in sales and climbed back up to #67. ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron followed suit, although it wasn’t quite as big of a climb as August, rising rom #74 to #69. Mariah Carey did the exact opposite, dropping way down from #46 to #70 with Me. I Am Mariah..The Elusive Chanteuse.