THIS WEEK HIP-HOP & R&B ALBUMS SALES

In this week's Sales Wrap, Beyonce stays fierce at No. 3, Akon easily debuts at No. 7 and Scarface gets mob love on his final hip-hop disc.

Beyonce's I Am...Sasha Fierce which offered fans another side of her personality topped all hip-hop and R&B releases this week. According to Nielsen Soundscan, the singer nabbed the No. 3 spot, selling 152,800 copies. After three weeks on the charts, B's new album is closing in on platinum status with 893,300 discs sold.

Resorting to an R&B tune this time around rapper Kanye West continues to sell copies of his new disc 808s & Heartbreak. The album only slipped three spots to No. 4 and sold 141,700 units this week. After just two weeks in stores, Ye's fourth project was certified gold with 593,100 discs sold.

Konvict labelhead Akon's Freedom was well received in it's opening week. The Grammy nominated singer's third disc debuted at No. 7 and pushed 110,900 copies.

Atlanta-bred rapper Ludacris sold fairly well going into his second week on store shelves as Theater of the Mind sold 65,300 units despite dropping ten spots to No. 15. Luda's sixth solo project currently stands at 279,400 sold.

Legendary Geto Boys rapper Scarface's Emeritus garnered some attention at retailers as it landed at No. 24 its first week. The Southern emcee was able to sell 42,200 copies in seven days.

The self-proclaimed "King of the South" T.I.'s Paper Trail slipped 11 spots down to No. 27 selling 38,900 discs this week. Tip's sixth project is past platinum status with 1,342,800 copies sold over the ten weeks it has been in stores.

R&B hottie Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad fell three slots to No. 37 selling 30,200 units this week. After 79 weeks, the Grammy winning singer has sold 2,087,600 copies.

Auto-tune king T-Pain's Thr33 Ringz continues its' slow start dropping 17 positions to No. 38 with 29,100 albums sold. Pain's third solo release has moved 307,400 copies after a month of availability.

Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III took an eight position slip landing at No. 47 with 23,400 albums sold this week. Quietly headed towards triple platinum status, Weezy's latest disc has sold 2,750,000 after 26 weeks in stores.

Iconic singer Seal creeped back into the Top 50 as Soul rose eight spots to No. 49 with 22,700 units sold. After a month in stores, Seal has sold 113,500 copies.

R&B superstar John Legend's Evolver dropped 13 spots to No. 50 with 22,500 discs moved out of retailers. Legend's third project has sold a total of 352,800 pieces after six weeks in stores.

The motion picture soundtrack Cadillac Records debuted this week on the charts landing at No. 66. Showcasing new music from its star Beyonce as well as Mos Def, Raphael Saadiq and Nas and others, the disc sold 15,700 copies its' first week in stores.