This week the race between T.I. and Logic for the top spot on the Billboard 200 comes to a close. Many fans have been anticipating the competition between the OG and the newcomer, and the final tally finds Tip coming out ahead by less than 10,000 copies. Paperwork didn't nab the #1 spot but finagled #2 with 80k copies. Under Pressure comes up under T.I. at #4 with a solid 72k. Both rappers performed better than expected. However, when it comes to long term maintenance, we have a feeling Logic may eventually conquer Paperwork. What do you think? Logic has loyal fans, and his fanbase continues to grow with help from Def Jam. T.I. may not be acquiring as many new fans on the regular these days. This week on the charts we also find two TDE spitters make a significant rise up (or in ScHoolboy Q's case, a re-entrance) the Billboard 200. Could Kendrick Lamar's buzz for his new single "i" be the sole factor contributing to his spurt of good kid, m.A.A.d city sales? What about Oxymoron? Check out what went down below.
1) T.I.— Paperwork: T.I. was able to outsell Logic opening week despite their sales projections being neck-and-neck. Tip sold more than expected, moving 80,000 units opening week, and landing Paperwork a #2 debut. While it’s not quite the numbers he’s done in the past, it still qualifies as his ninth album to debut within the Billboard 200’s top 10.
2) Logic— Under Pressure: For a debut album from an (formerly) independent rapper who built his fanbase from the ground up, Logic really did well for himself opening week. Although he didn’t sell more than the Kang, he did move a sold 72,000 units, coming in at #4.
3) Chris Brown— X: After Under Pressure, we go all the way down to #30 to find Chris Brown’s latest album, X. The album sold 9,793 copies this week, which brought total sales up to 244,700. Brown has been charting for 6 weeks.
4) The Game— Year of the Wolf: In his second week of charting, The Game’s Blood Money album drops down from #7 to #31. The somewhat lackluster project sold another 9,440 which brings the total sales to 42,325.
5) Jeezy— Seen It All: Jeezy rose up one spot this week, to #41. The Snowman pushed another 6,815 copies of Seen It All off shelves, and rounded up his total sales to 226,088.
6) Lecrae— Anomaly: Lecrae and Jeezy continue to stay relatively close together on the charts. Lecrae fell a bit this week, with Anomaly coming in at #48, down from last week’s #39. The rapper still managed to sell 6,403 copies, with total sales of 173,765.
7) Iggy Azalea— The New Classic: With a re-release on the way, Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic falls a few spots to #63. It’s hard to say whether or not she’ll continue dropping or rise back up. Nonetheless this week, after charting for 27 weeks, the Australian sold 4,709 copies. Her total sales are nearing 400k, currently at 391,971.
8) Kendrick Lamar— good kid, m.A.A.d city: With his new single “I” out now, and another one reportedly on the way (“King Kunta”), K. Dot’s debut major label album is receiving a spurt in sales. The album made big climb, from #133 to #68. It seems some fans are just getting hip to the good kid, and 4,498 copies of GKMC were sold this past week. Total sales are 1,323,773.
9) Wiz Khalifa— Blacc Hollywood: Wiz Khalifa’s new album fell down this week to #72. As he prepares to embark on his “Big Secret Blacc Hollywood” tour, the rapper’s album moved only 4,305 copies this week. His total sales are 189,701.
10) Jhene Aiko— Souled Out: Jhene Aiko’s debut also saw quite a drop this week, after coming in at #55 last week, the singer falls to #73. She’s been charting for 7 weeks, and sold 4,303 more copies of Souled Out. The album’s grand tally is 125,315.
Interestingly enough, another TDE rapper, ScHoolboy Q, finds himself charting again. Oxymoron fell off the Billboard 200 completely, but managed to re-enter it this week at #74, after selling 4,270 copies (total sales are 331,895). What could have caused Q’s sales to rise up like this? In Hot 100 single news, ILoveMakonnen’s “Tuesday” with Drake climbs up 27 spots to #35, while Big Sean’s “I Don’t’ Fuck With You” climbs 14 spots to #34. “Lifestyle” from Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug finds a new peak at #17. Bobby Shmurda’s “Hot Boy” rises up 1 spot to #8. Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” on the other hand, drops 1 spot to #7. Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” single also experienced a drop, going 2 spots down to #6.