This week, there were two new additions to the charts. For the second year straight, Los Angeles, California emcee Kid Ink tackled the Top 200 digitally, without marketing or promotion. Now backed by RCA Records, the longtime indie artist struck again with his Almost Home EP, scoring a Top 30 debut.
For the second time in a row, Radio Killa/Def Jam Records singing/songwriting sensation The-Dream missed the Top 10. His fifth studio album, IV Play, debuted at #16. The album features husband-and-wife duo Jay-Z and Beyonce, although on separate songs.
LL Cool J and Snoop Lion both left the Top 200, with Authenticand Reincarnated, respectively. Eve’sLip Lock hangs on at #192 for a third week, despite strong criticism of her fourth solo album.
The-Dream Gives The Charts A Little IV Play
The-Dream has had a complicated history with the charts. His 2009 sophomore album, Love Vs. Money earned a #2 for the longtime Def Jam artist. His acclaimed debut, 2007’s Love Hate, was a #30 debut, though reaching gold in subsequent weeks. Following last year’s #29 debut of Terius Nash: 1977, The-Dream swung upwards on the rankings with this year’s IV Play.
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His fifth album entered at #16, selling over 20,000 first-week copies. Premiered for free stream on VEVO before release, the album features G.O.O.D. Music roleplayers Big Sean and Pusha T, as well as Jay-Z, Beyonce and 2 Chainz.
Kid Ink Is A Quiet Sales Force
2012 DXnext artist Kid Ink continues to out-sell many of his peers. The Alumni Music Group artist who recently signed with RCA Records, continues to find commercial success in everything he releases. Following 2012’s Top 20 debut of self-released Up & Away, the L.A. artist hit Top 30 with his digital EP, Almost Home.
The star-packed six-song EP features French Montana, A$AP Ferg, Meek Mill and Wale. The project sold over 15,000 first-week units as Ink gears up for his major label full-length debut.
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Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 6/2/2013
#1. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories – 93,000 (432,000)
#7. The Great Gatsby Soundtrack – 36,000 (322,000)
#16. The-Dream – IV Play – 23,000 (23,000)
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#18. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist– 22,000 (776,000)
#21. French Montana – Excuse My French – 18,000 (74,000)
#27. Kid Ink – Almost Home EP – 15,000 (15,000)
#32. Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being II– 12,000 (465,000)
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#48. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city – 7,800 (913,000)
#192. Eve – Lip Lock – 2,300 (14,000)
#175. Gucci Mane – Trap House III – 2,500 (2,500)
* data comes from Nielsen Soundscan, rounded to nearest thousandth for units above 10,000, nearest hundredth for units below 10,000. Each week, HipHopDX presents top albums in Hip Hop/related, and five notables.
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In a quiet week for the charts ahead, will The-Dream rise as he has before?
RELATED:Kid Ink Speaks About His Start In Music, Process for Picking Beats, And Getting Tattoos [2012 DXnext INTERVIEW]
