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Hello everybody.  Blogging live from somewhere…

This week was a little better for the little “urban niche” we like to call hip-hop & R&B album sales.  Check out The Dream “Love Vs. Money” making big moves (still couldn’t touch Kelly Clarkson who debuted at roughly 255,000 even though she got FAT… anyone else notice that?)

New Releases 3/10/09
The Dream “Love Vs. Money” – 151,463 (12% digital)
J. Holiday “Round Two” – 55,398 (11% digital)
Brother Ali “Truth is Here” – 4861 (45% digital)
Bizzy Bone “Back With The Thugz” – 1,435
Jacki-O “Little Red Riding Hood” – 458 (48% digital)

For a little more in-depth analysis, and to get a feel for the trends in album sales (both over the years, and for a particular album from street date on) take a look at these:
Brother Ali “Truth is Here” – 4861 – 45% digital means only 2,180 physical units… now compare this to Brother Ali’s 1st week numbers on his last album “Undisputed Truth” in ’07 which did 10,658 first week, and only 12% digital, and that should give you a small idea as to how the marketplace is shifting.

Here’s a quick update on the albums that kicked off this column, and how they’re performing 3 weeks out.

K’naan “Troubador” (Week 3 – 3,885 – 38% drop)  (Week 2 – 6,261 – 60% drop)       (Week 1 – 15,386) – 25,532 total (56/44 – dig/phys)

Havoc “Hidden Files” (Week 3 – 449 – 21% drop)       (Week 2 – 566 – 40% drop)          (Week 1 – 942) – 2,001 total (70/30 dig/phys)

B-Real “Smoke N Mirrors” (Week 3 – 1,570 – 31% drop)    (Week 2 – 2,268 – 40% drop)       (Week 1 – 3,829) – 6,165 total (75/25 dig/phys)

Joe Budden “Padded Room” (Week 3 – 2,332 – 24% drop)   (Week 2 – 3,060 – 77% drop)       (Week 1 – 13,561) – 19,253 total (60/40 dig/phys)

As always, let me know if there are any artists that you’d like to know info for, and I’ll do my best to work them in.

Till next time…

Peace