S. Samuel
Rap veteran Nas should easily dominate his music competition over the next seven days with the new Life Is Good first-week sales projections increasing and placing him at number one.
According to weekend estimates, the LP could now push up to 135,000 and practically guarantee him a chart-topping opening week.
Nas will debut at #1 on next week’s chart, giving Def Jam two titles in the Top 5. Frank Ocean, in his first week of wide release (sans Target), is being featured for $2.99 in Amazon MP3 store. Because of SoundScan rules limiting the pricing to no less than $3.49 in the first four weeks of release, these sales will not count on that chart. Our current projection does not include these sales. *Nas (Def Jam/IDJ) 125-135k Zac Brown Band (Atlantic) 70-80k *Kidz Bop Kids (Razor & Tie) 60-65k Frank Ocean (Def Jam/IDJ) 40-45k (Weakend Chart Preview)
Initial one-day estimates had the LP selling no more than 125,000 units.
Nas’ new Def Jam/IDJ album, Life is Good, is his 10th in an impressive career dating back to ’94’s now iconic Illmatic. It should debut at #1 on next week’s HITS Album sales chart with between 115-125k in sales, according to one-day sales figures provided by those music retailers who are still creating jobs, according to President Obama. The quintessential N.Y. rapper’s last album, Untitled, debuted in July four years ago with 187k in first-week sales. (HITS Daily Double)
The rap mogul’s newest album features guest spots from Swizz Beatz, Rick Ross and more.
Collaborations with artist like Mary J. Blige, Rick Ross and Swizz Beatz and Nas’ solos arrange themselves into a coherent necklace made of discreet gems. Old mixes with new, noir enters the flow and the lyrics are tinged with both vulnerability and brutality. (Huffington Post)
His latest solo effort has received rave reviews courtesy of major publications like the Los Angeles Times.
This is turning out to be one of the most vibrant and exciting years for hip-hop music in at least a decade, a place where hot young tykes such as Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky and Earl Sweatshirt are competing for the same piece of the pie as veterans like Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas and Killer Mike. In the past, many vets were placed on waivers by major labels who valued youth and hype over style and experience, never to be heard from again. In the 2012 world of mixtapes and universal access, the crowd defines who’s tired and who’s still got it. Nas not only still has it, but has vast quantities of it. Luckily for us, he’s still inspired by the need to share — even the moments when life isn’t all that great. (LA Times)
Check out a recent Nas interview below:
