(Week Ending On 12/19/11)
Well, it’s official, Drake’s second studio album, Take Care (YM/CM/Universal), has officially been certified platinum. This week the Take Care dropped one spot from #7 to the #8 spot after selling 75,774 units in the album’s fifth week. However, due to the holiday season, Drake actually saw a 5% increase in album sales compared to last week. Haters gon’ hate but YMCMB is having one hell of a year!
R&B singer Anthony Hamilton’s returns with his fifth studio album, Back to Love (RCA), which debuted at #11 selling just over 60,000 units. The album, which features production from Salaam Remi, Babyface, and Antonio Dixon is Hamilton’s first major release since 2008’s The Point of It All.
Debuting at #27 is the “stoner-esque” collaboration album Mac & Devin Go to High School (Warner Bros.) from rappers Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg. With the star power that these two have plus the album’s single “Young, Wild, and Free” which features Bruno Mars being a hit, this has to be mildly disappointing for not just the artists but the label at the very least. Expect the album to hang around for the next week or two due to Christmas shopping, but after that it will likely vanish from the Top 50.
Coming in at #38 is the last Hip-Hop representative in the Top 50. Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV (YM/CM/Universal), which has already been certified double-platinum, moved just under 30,000 units and saw an impressive 27% increase in sales from last week.
Dropping This Week (12/20/11):
Common’s ninth studio album, The Dreamer/The Believer (Warner Bros.), will be released today. Common talked about the album, which includes production exclusively from No I.D. and features from Nas, Maya Angelou, and John Legend, in an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com. You can also read our review of the album here.
One of 2011’s biggest hook men, Roscoe Dash, is also releasing a project. The J.U.I.C.E. EP contains seven new tracks featuring artists like Big Sean and Wale. The title J.U.I.C.E. stands for: “just understand I control everything.”
Young Jeezy’s fourth studio album, Thug Motivation 103 (Def Jam), also will be released today after being delayed numerous times over the past two years. The third and final album in the Thug Motivation series contains features from Jay-Z, Andre 3000, T.I., 2 Chainz, and Fabolous among others. You can read our review of TM103 here.