ARCHIVED NEWS
Who could of ever imagine 10 years ago that the Def Jam brand, once synonymous with gritty street Hip Hop would have a 16 year old white R&B/Pop singer from Canada as its current flagship artist? Quite a long way from having DMX covered in blood on 'Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of my Blood' 1998 release... 9/Toni Braxton/Pulse/54,458 17 years since she dropped her debut solo album and her latest project cracks the Top 10, can't be mad at that. First single Yesterday produced by PMP alumni DJ Frank E. 10/Usher/Raymond VS Raymond/51,307/637,223 The days of going diamond are long over (for Usher or anyone else for that matter) but he's getting that 'Bieber Bread' so who gives a F? The Will.I.Am 'OMG' single is in the lead for the Summer Anthem title so expect this album to stick around the Top 200 for a good minute. 11/10/Lady Gaga/Fame/28,363/3,241,380 Akon > YOU 13/Trina/Amazin/32,483 Has it already been 12 years since Trina first jumped up on the scene with Trick Daddy with "Nann Nigga"? Say what you want about her rapping skills but she's lasted longer than most rappers in this business male or female. Title track Million Dollar Girl co-written by PMP alumni Xplicit 12/B.O.B./B.O.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray/36,088/120,358 One of the rare examples of proper artist development, the future looks promising for Bobby Ray as long as he's allowed to march at a steady pace. If you try to bake the chicken too fast you'll be eating burned skin and rubber meat 29/Sade/Soldier of Love/21,926/1,152,989 There is only one Sade. Name another artist that can take a 10 year break, come back and go Gold in their first week sales? And that's with keeping all her clothes on and avoiding the usual tabloid controversy or high profiled co-signs. There's a difference between making a hit record that last for the summer and creating a musical EXPERIENCE that lasts a lifetime. 47/Rihanna/Rated R/12,295/868,944 Do you have loyal fans of you or your hit records? If they only love you for your hits then you better be able to keep pumping them out or else your album sales will absolutely take a hit. Numbers are not bad but based on expectations could definitely be better. 50/Trey Songz/Ready/706,035 What does an artist need to do to get a platinum plate nowadays? This album has spawned two certified hit records and at least 3 other records that have garnered significant radio spins so what's the problem? Maybe we're the problem, trying to gauge success based off of albums sold when it should be only part of the equation. If only there was a way to track artist features, paid club appearances, birthday performances, TV/Film license placements, touring, consulting and wrapped it all up in numeric representation then we could have a more accurate view. Yea right... 71/Jay-Z/Blueprint 3/7,421/1,733,272 72/Eminem/Relapse/7,414/1,935,517 Is it coincidence that both rappers sold nearly the exact # of copies on the same week they announce their stadium show collabo...in the same week the Tigers played the Yankees? Conspiracy Theorists get at me 83/Young Money/We Are Young Money/6,733/460,630 Five years ago when independent soldier Tony Yayo went Gold (or nearly Gold) with his debut "Thoughts of a Predicate Felon" many viewed the numbers as a failure in light of the previous platinum success coming out of the G-Unit factory. Nowadays what new rapper (outside of Drake) would you bet your two week paycheck on going Gold on their debut project? Better yet how many new rappers will even debut a new major album release this year, especially when you can make $12,000 a show off of a Mixtape hit. 86/Mary J Blige/Stronger/6,484/758,412 This is what I call "landing the plane smoothly". Nobody stays in the clouds forever but unlike others that shoot off like a rocket and crash and burn the "Queen" has held it down since the days of Uptown Records. Respect it - LEGAL DOLLAZ |
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