Kanye West Debuts At #1 As Weekly Sales Rebound
(UPDATED) Kanye West should be smiling. This week he led a trio of rappers to the top of the Nielsen SoundScan sales chart published by Billboard. His new album, Yeezus, hitting #1 with 327,000 sold in the first week of release. That’s the most for a rap album since November 2011, according to figures released by NARM. Rappers J. Cole and Mac Miller debuted at #2
and #3, respectively.
With sales of 297,000, J. Cole’s Born Sinner
becomes the largest #2 debut since December 2011. Miller’s Watching
Movies with the Sound Off debuted with 102,000 sold, making it the first time three
rappers have sold more than 100,000 units in the same week since November
2006.
“While overall sales volume remains down from 2012, digital track sales
volume was up 5% compared to the same week last year,” said NARM President Jim Donio. “We’re looking
forward to tracking this week’s strong new releases in the weeks ahead, and
seeing the impact of Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.”
I guess his new technique of no promo; no single buzz worked.