It must be nice getting all those checks.  (more…)

In support of the student loan crisis, (more…)

At the end of last year, Chris Webby left his mark on the game when his commercial debut, There Goes The Neighborhood, emerged as the number one hip-hop album on iTunes with no promotion whatsoever.  Albums like this have been a trend within the passing months, and it seems like this wave of overnight digital sensations isn’t going anywhere. Last week, New York hipster hip-hopper Hoodie Allen released his commercial debut exclusively in digital format, and low and behold the release surpassed Nicki Minaj from a digital standpoint (yes, Nicki did move about 3 times this amount in the past 7 days, but the majority of which was physical). Now I think everyone wants to know what white rapper will come out of left field and dominate the iTunes charts next; and I have a strong feeling that something like this will happen again this year.  In other sales related news, Texas-bred MC and Lacrae label-mate Trip Lee did his thing by moving an impressive 19,000 units of his latest album, Good Life.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s studied Lecrae because he and his Reach Records affiliates have been killing the game as of late in the God Rap genre.   While it’s not quite hip-hop, maybe sort of trip-hop,  it’s worth mentioning the success of super-producer Bassnectar’s latest project, Viva Voom, which made its top 40 debut this week.  The only other notable release came from Big K.R.I.T. who either has very supportive fans or at least a couple thousand fans that don’t follow hip-hop websites because he managed to sell more than 1,300 copies of his 5 track EP which contains all but 1 song that was previously released for free on the mixtape, 4EvaNaDay, which I highly recommend checking out. Hoodie Allen “All American” – 27,278 (100% digital) Trip Lee “Good Life” – 19,385 (88% digital) Bassnectar“Viva Voom” – 12,877 (2% digital) Big K.RI.T.“4eva Na Day (Road Less Traveled Edition) – EP” – 1,378 (100% digital)

Who’s going to hip-hop’s first billionaire? Drum roll please…. Coming in at number one on Forbes richest hip-hop artist list is…, Sean “Diddy” Combs. The publication estimates Diddy net worth at $550 million. 1. Sean “Diddy” Combs – $550 Million 2. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter – $460 Million 3. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young – $270 Million 4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams – $125 Million 5. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson -$100 Million

Earlier this week, Havoc had an alleged twitter rant against Prodigy and then denied that he was behind those tweets. And now this: According to XXLMag.com, a source, who works closely with Mobb Deep, says that the pair has been having issues since Prodigy’s release from prison last year. Supposedly, 50 Cent offered P a solo deal on account of Hav’s problems with alcohol abuse.

E-40 is a hustler; you can’t deny that. The Bay Area legend pulled one over on consumers last March when he released a double album, sold separately on the same day, and he’s back at it again, taking things to a whole new level on his triple album, The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 1, 2 & 3.  40 Water showed his hustler ambitions by selling this as both a package deal and three separate albums. Combined, The Block Brochure has sold over 32,000 units, making E-40 the real winner this week. Miami crew ¡MAYDAY! did more than scratch the surface this week by landing an unexpected Top 200 slot with the release of their Stange Music debut, Take Me To Your Leader.  The album features Tech N9ne, Ace Hood, and Murs, among others. In other release news, DJ Premier & Bumpy Knuckles scanned a respectable 3,000 units of their collabo album, KoleXXXion.  You can check out photos from their album release party here.  Check back next week to see if Nicki Minaj lands the number 1 spot with her zany sophomore effort Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. E-40 “The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 1, 2 & 3″ – 9,578 (76% digital) E-40 “The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 2″ – 7,940 (3% digital) E-40“The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 1″ – 7,817 (2% digital) E-40“The Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 3″ – 6,867 (0% digital) ¡MAYDAY! “Take Me To Your Leader”- 5,439 (33% digital) DJ Premier & Bumpy Knuckles “KoleXXXion” – 3,099 (26% digital) Actual Proof “Black Boy Radio” – 607 (100% digital) Gift Of Gab “Next Logical Progression” – 495 (54% digital)

All those who have written Odd Future off as a fad should now stand corrected.  The 11 person collective nearly matched the success of the more publicized debut from leader Tyler The Creator, by moving more than 40,000 units this past week.  The OF Tape, Vol. 2 plays through like a crazy jumbled, eclectic playlist, and it seems like OFWFKTA wouldn’t have it any other way.  It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the rap stable now that Earl Sweatshirt is back in the mix.  Rev. Run’s youngest son, Diggy, surprised many by cracking the top 20 this week with his aptly titled commercial debut, Unexpected Arrival.  Diggy managed to outdo Machine Gun Kelly’s EP, which pushed a meager 8.5k, which isn’t terrible considering it is being billed as the soundtrack to a book.  I’m personally not sold on Diggy, but it’s undeniable that the kid has a bright future ahead of him.  If you have consistently checked this column, you may have realized that Christian rap has become a growing trend.  This week, the Christ-praising MC Swoope made an impressive showing by selling over 2,000 copies of his album Wake Up in the digital space alone.   I took the time this week to check out a couple of singles that have been smashing the charts on iTunes.  I knew B.o.B was killing the game, but I’m still surprised that he did 400k plus in one month for “So Good,” especially considering this track is readily available for free download just about everywhere. Check back next week to see what numbers Bay Area legend E-40 puts up with the release of his triple album, The Block Brochure. Odd Future “The OF Tape, Vol. 2″ – 40,110 (60% digital) Diggy “Unexpected Arrival” – 20,725 (15% digital) MGK “Half Naked & Almost Famous” – 8,517 (100% digital) Swoope “Wake Up”- 2,353 (100% digital) Slaughterhouse “Hammer Dance – Single” – 11,197 (100% digital)  *Two week total*  [listen to track] B.o.B “So Good – Single” – 433,252 (100% digital)  *Four week total*  [watch video]

I was talking with KEN ESQ and I was telling him the same thing regarding the future of the technology.

Harlem rapper ASAP Rocky’s love for Black Scale gear has been well-documented across various videos and photoshoots, so it comes as no surprise that the San Francisco-based label has gifted the 23-year-old star with his own signature collection. Complex caught up with Black Scale’s MEGA and Alfred to learn more. So the capsule collection was inspired by A$AP Rocky. Tell us more how he influenced the aesthetic of the collection. Alfred: Rocky has been a fan of Black Scale since before we actually met. It just so happened that I was working the sales floor the day he decided to come in and purchase items for his video shoot for “Purple Swag.” He had a great energy and was a genuinely nice guy. The video dropped and the relationship continued to grow organically. The response was so overwhelming that it made sense to do a collabo. The design influences were taken from what the A$AP crew liked about Black Scale. I tried to integrate all the aesthetics that drew the crew to the brand, always keeping in mind that they should look good in it when they wear it. The collection of sweats, tees and caps with be available through BLVCK SCVLE in March. Check Complex for the full interview.