
Well ladies and gentlemen, the numbers are in for last week’s album sales, and according to Billboard, Eminem’s Recovery is the #1 album for the fifth week in a row after selling 187,200 copies (bringing it’s grand total to 1,669,600), and topping Ricky Rozay’s Teflon Don, which sold roughly 176,300 units in it’s first week.
Basically…Ross lost.
I told ya’ll nuccas Rick Ross wouldn’t sell over 200k…I think it was the titties. Well that and the fact the he lacks a strong female fan base, and chicks buy records more than nuccas do. Especially nuccas that think they’re Big Meech…they don’t buy music at all. Couple that with the fact that Rick Ross doesn’t have a Top 40 single off Teflon Don on the chart that really matters, (“B.M.F.” is No. 82 if you’re keeping score at home) and it’s obvious why Ross didn’t sell more albums. I mean, it’s actually more amazing that Eminem is still at the top spot after five weeks…that guy has some true fans.
Not to take anything away from Rick Ross because selling 187,200 albums in one week is still an accomplishment. But when your album has Jay-Z, John Legend, Cee-Lo, Jadakiss, T.I., Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Gucci Mane, Drake, Styles P, Chrisette Michele AND muthaf@ckin’ Raphael Saadiq, just off features (and I didn’t even mention the producers), that’s one hell of an album budget, and I know Def Jam wants their effin’ money back.
Of course, you can’t judge an album’s success off one week alone, but since we’re in a culture that hangs on to first week numbers like it’s the final score at Super Bowl, artists and labels do like putting up good numbers after 7 days. And in this case, Ross did good, but not good enough. Or like Ricky Bobby would say, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
Billboard.com: Eminem Still No. 1, Rick Ross Bows at No. 2 on Billboard 200
Somewhat Related Topic: Nanci O and I debate Young Jeezy and Rick Ross | Where Is Hip-Hop? (Episode 53)