S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West will continue making their competition Watch the Throne as the joint album's second week sales projections show it easily topping the chart.
Based on weekend estimates, the new LP is projected to outsell its next closest competitor by double.
Jay Z and Kanye West repeat at #1 on next week’s HITS Album Chart with their two-headed, while the juggernaut that is Adele gains in sales and moves back into the #2 slot. Top chart newcomer is the Eli Young Band on Universal Republic Nashville at #6 and Up/Down/Megaforce’s Blue October at #10. Here’s how it looks headed into the weekend: Jay Z and Kanye West (Roc-a-fella/Roc Nation): 160-180k Adele (XL/Columbia) 75-80k (HITS Daily Double)
The LP debuted atop all albums last week with over 400,000 records sold.
Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne leads the pack this week debuting at No. 1. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the duo’s highly anticipated joint album has sold 436,100 units after seven days in stores. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
Prior to hitting physical retail outlets, the collaborative record premiered digitally.
“Watch the Throne,” which miraculously didn’t leak to the Web as so many eagerly-awaited albums have over the years, is exclusive to iTunes until Friday, Aug. 12. That’s when all other retailers — physical and digital — will start selling “Watch.” Of course, most brick-and-mortar retailers could opt to ignore the official street date and begin selling the CD as soon as they receive it, which may be as early as Wednesday. (Billboard)
Roc-A-Fella Records engineer Young Guru recently spoke on the LP’s ability to push boundaries.
“[It’s like] a new day,” Guru said referring to the album as a whole. “Incredible. You’ve never heard two rappers talk about unborn children, and the persective that they come with it [on the song ‘New Day’] is so personal to them that it makes a great record. Kanye is basically coming and saying, ‘I’m going to make sure that my son doesn’t make the same mistakes that I do,’ so that’s the references to, ‘I’m trying to find love in the strip club’…Jay is coming from the perspective of, ‘Well, I didn’t have my father [around growing up], so I’m going to make sure that my son [does], I’m going be there for him.’ I say this to Jay all the time, that, how did the [album sales] work out so easy for him? It seems like it’s magic, but in [his] mind, it’s like, ‘Okay, my first album came out when I was 26, so then, that’s…when I became a man.’ That’s my job to cut that [check] in half for him so that at 13, I [can] eat a black bar mitzvah.” (The Hip Hop Chronicle)
Check out a recent Jay-Z interview below:
