THIS WEEK HIP-HOP ALBUMS SALES

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:00:00 Z
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In this week's Sales Wrap, John Legend's album sales continue to hit a high note, T.I. is hot on his trail, Q-Tip makes his long-awaited return and Lil' Wayne receives a bump in chart position.

R&B crooner John Legend shows no intention of slowing down as his latest disc Evolver nabs No. 6 on this week's charts. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Legend's third release pushed a steady 72,100 copies and has sold a total of 205,200 after two weeks in stores.

T.I. tops all other rap acts this week landing at No. 7 with Paper Trail scanning 68,800 units. The self-proclaimed "King of the South" has already surpassed a million in sales as the new project stands at 1,116,400 after only six weeks on shelves.

Finally, making his return is Q-Tip, whose Renaissance stomped in at No. 11 in its opening week. Serving as his follow-up album to 1999's Amplified, the former A Tribe Called Quest front man has entered the charts with 34,200 after seven days. (Check out Q-Tip in the video below, as he talks about the AutoTune voice effect made popular by T-Pain)

R&B superstar Jennifer Hudson slid two spots down this week shelling out 26,300 copies of her self-titled debut album. The Academy Award winning singer has continued to draw fans into stores selling 413,100 copies after six weeks in stores.

Ne-Yo also took a bit of a fall over the past seven days as Year of the Gentleman dropped three slots to No. 18, pushing 25,200 units this week. After nearly a month since its release, the singer's third Def Jam project slowly turns out sales standing at 573,200.

After recently celebrating the birth of his new son, Lil' Wayne may also be cheering the success of Tha Carter III as it moves up one spot to No. 19 this week selling 24,000 copies. Cash Money Records' top-selling artist has sold a total of 2,648,700 units of his latest release after 22 weeks in stores.

Video vixen Rihanna also moved up this week creeping two spots to No. 21 as her re-released version of Good Girl Gone Bad sold 20,200 copies. After nearly a year and a half on the charts, she is nearing double platinum status with 1,976,100 copies sold.

Offering fans a new set of anthems this time around, Young Jeezy's The Recession moved up five spots to No. 23, selling 19,600 copies this week. Gaining a nice buzz with his new pro-Barack Obama record "My President is Black," Jeezy's third Def Jam release stands at 598,600 copies sold.

British soul singer Leona Lewis refuses to leave the charts as her platinum-certified album Spirit secured No. 34 this week, selling 15,600 units. The UK singer's debut has moved a solid 1,234,200 albums after 31 weeks in the US.

R&B newcomer Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless fell five spots to No. 37 on the charts this week with 13,700 scanned albums. Led by the single "Need U Bad," Sullivan's debut album has pushed out 205,800 copies after seven weeks in stores.

The Game's L.A.X. also dropped a few slots landing at No. 40 with a total of 13,100 albums sold this week. Chuck Taylor's third album moves past gold status after 11 weeks in stores with a total of 559,100 copies out the door.

Blue-eyed soul singer Robin Thicke is nearing the end of his Top 50 run, hitting No. 46 this week as Something Else selling 12,400 copies. Following-up his platinum-selling album The Evolution of Robin Thicke, the crooner's latest release continues its steady pace with 243,800 units sold.

Getting off to a slow start in his opening week is DJ Unk whose sophomore set Second Season hit No. 104. After seven days since its release, Unk's latest project has scanned a total of 5,300 copies.