Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/24/2013

Hip Hop loses its footing on the top 20 this week, but posts strong numbers down the charts. Riding the success of their breakout single “Thrift Shop,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis prove to be this week’s strongest seller in the genre, helping their LP The Heist slowly inch towards gold status. Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar continues to move copies of his major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city in the weeks following an appearance as musical guest on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” A$AP Rocky delivers consistent numbers with Long.Live.A$AP, while artists with 2012 releases – Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz and Chief Keef – maintain their footing on the charts.

While it was a typical week for Hip Hop sales, the sole rapper to score a spot on the top 100 is Trinidad James, whose mixtape Don’t Be S.A.F.E. makes its first appearance on the charts after it released to iTunes late last month. The “All Gold Everything” spitter initially dropped the project as a freebie, but his label Def Jam put it out as a downloadable product – no doubt achieving intended success.

Check below to see who had the strongest week on the charts.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Stay Afloat With “The Heist”

Months after releasing their collaborative debut full-length The Heist, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are still pushing units. The duo, who found success with their chart-topping hit “Thrift Shop” (unseated from the top last week by Baauer’s “Harlem Shake”), become this week’s strongest Hip Hop seller, moving an additional 22,000 copies of the project and upping their overall cume to 379,000 units. While it’s 2,000 sold copies less than last week’s haul, the pair jumps from No. 33 to 16, edging out A$AP Rocky’s Long.Live.A$APfor the top Hip Hop position.

HipHopDX | Rap & Hip Hop News | Ad Placeholder

AD LOADING...

Trinidad James Mines “Gold” On Chart With “Don’t Be S.A.F.E.”

It’s unclear exactly why Trinidad James managed to post some strong numbers almost a month after releasing his mixtape to digital retail, but this week, Don’t Be S.A.F.E. becomes the sole Hip Hop release to crack the chart. After it released to iTunes on January 29th, the mixtape manages to settle at No. 96, selling 4,000 copies and upping its overall tally to 11,000 units. The Def Jam rapper, who recently performed his breakout single “All Gold Everything” with The Roots on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” initially dropped the release as a gift to fans back in July and later re-released when his hit caught steam in October. He most recently remixed the cut to feature T.I, Young Jeezy and 2 Chainz, and is believed to be working on his official Def Jam debut.