50 Cent’s recent extracurricular activities involving Rick Ross’ family and baiting fellow mogul Jay-Z will fall short of pushing another #1 debut, as Before I Self Destruct is projected to sell 160,000 copies.
According to sales projection site hitsdailydouble.com, the G Unit CEO latest project will land behind chart topper John Mayer’s new LP Battle Studies (projected to push 275,000-300,000) and possibly albums from songstress Norah Jones, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and Christian band Casting Crowns.
Before I Self-Destruct has been plagued by numerous pushbacks over the last year. Since an initial release announcement in February 2008, 50 has released 4 singles, including 2 that did not make the final tracklisting: “Get Up,” “I Get It In,” “Ok, You’re Right,” and “Baby By Me.”
Additionally, the album leaked a whole month early on October, prompting the Queens native to push up the release date from November 23 to November 16 after gauging positive feedback from fans.
If the projected numbers hold, Before I Self-Destruct will be 50 Cent’s lowest debut week, following 2007’s Curtis (695,000), 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (872,000), and 2005’s The Massacre (1.5 million). Because the album hit iTunes a week early, those digital sales will be added to the rapper’s total tally.
To date, the latest single “Baby By Me” has peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Top 100.
At press time, the mogul’s next single will be “Get It Hot,” featuring Lloyd Banks.
