S. Samuel
Rap veteran Jermaine Dupri is pulling for R&B singer Frank Ocean's new Channel Orange to break through its projected 125,000 sold copies estimate and has displayed his support for the Odd Future associate.
JD inked an open message heading into the weekend and said sales could help prove a substantial point to music industry executives.
“When I saw the # that Frank Ocean is suppose to hit next week, I got extremely Happy,I said I need to get in my car and and listen to this album,by the time I got to “Sweet Life” I was even more happy,finally!! a RnB album that’s hip,with out having the same 5 rappers on every song,I actually hope he hits 200k,for the sake of RnB,it’s in the worst position it’s ever been since I started making music,The Record company’s don’t believe in it,Radio won’t play it if it don’t have a rapper,and a majority of the artist that are labeled RnB,are confused and lost,so I repeat,I hope Ocean sells more than the 125k that he’s on pace for,maybe these executives u’llwake the f*ck up,or at least try to copy what he’s doing,like they always do, by the way,the end of “Pyramids”jammin like a m*fucka. [sic]” (Global 14)
Weekend estimates currently show the LP projected to sell up to 135,000 copies.
Zac Brown Band debuts at #1 with its third Atlantic release, besting the first week of its previous album by over 70k. All four major distributors are represented nicely in this week’s Top 15, with Sony having five titles for the lead, WEA next with four titles and UMG and EMI each having three. Here’s how it looks headed into the weekend: *Zac Brown Band (Atlantic) 215-230k *Frank Ocean (Def Jam/IDJ) 125-135k Chris Brown (RCA) 45-50k (Weakend Chart Preview)
A few days ago, first-week projections had the album selling up to 125,000 records at most.
The week’s big story is controversial Def Jam/IDJ avant-R&B crooner Frank Ocean, a member of the L.A.-based hip-hop collective Odd Future, who will open with a very impressive 110-125k as an iTunes exclusive for his major label bow, Channel Orange. Ocean surprised everyone by Tweeting the album would be made available after his network TV debut Monday night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon singing “Bad Religion” from the release. (HITS Daily Double)
The LP’s opening week will mainly stem from its iTunes exclusive release.
Then on Tuesday, another surprise — the Los Angeles singer’s major-label debut album “Channel Orange” would be available on iTunes a week before it was scheduled to land in stores. After a few listens, it feels as if it landed years ahead of time. At 24, Ocean shows a sure-footed confidence that took many of his forebears years to summon. But his songwriting chops shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been following this guy’s young career. He released a lovely digital album last year, “Nostalgia, Ultra”; he’s helped pen songs for Justin Bieber, John Legend and Beyonce; he sang the most exquisite hook on Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s 2011 collaboration album “Watch the Throne”; and he’s made standout contributions as a member of the rowdy Los Angeles rap collective Odd Future. (Washington Post)
