Cole, Drake was a steady presence on radio for months leading up to the release of his 2010 debut album, “Thank Me Later,” which sold approximately 447,000 copies in its first week, and eventually went platinum. “So Far Gone,” his breakout 2009 mixtape, was an Internet phenomenon that became something much greater, spawning radio hits and even garnering a pair of Grammy nominations, a first for a mixtape.
Next week Drake will top the album chart, knocking Mac Miller back down to earth Drake’s expected to sell 600,000 to 700,000 copies of his second album, “Take Care” (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Republic) this week, which will be one of the biggest debut weeks of the year.īut not that long ago, Drake was just a rapper hoping to transcend the Internet. Cole and their peers right in the face, and probably blinding them. If there’s a model for surviving this hype spike and finding stability, it’s staring Mac Miller, Wale, Mr. “Loitering” has a tremendous, unconventional, guttural beat by Young L, and Mac Miller’s current single, “Party on Fifth Ave.,” is his best to date, a breezy romp that samples “The 900 Number,” one of the great 1980s hip-hop instrumentals. He’s not the triumphalist that his boss is, and the production here feels too grand for him - he’s a gummy rapper still tentative about his subject matter, his flow patterns and his presence.īut there are flickers of savvy at work here. “Ambition” may be the best Wale release since his 2008 mixtape “The Mixtape About Nothing,” but it’s still chaotic. By any measurement it’s a better album than “Ambition,” especially in its judicious use of Wale, the crew’s least characteristic artist. 1” (Maybach Music Group/Warner Brothers), a compilation of songs from artists on Rick Ross’s label, released in May.
5, though it’s probably the least representative song on “Ambition.” The song’s success dates back to the summer, when it was a breakout hit from “Maybach Music Group Presents: Self Made, Vol. 7 on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop songs chart this week, and “That Way,” his single with Jeremih and Rick Ross, is No. Without the singles to guarantee them consistent exposure and, by extension, consistent sales, these first-week figures will be a historical blip, a trivia question 20 years from now.
Cole’s albums each sold just a quarter of their first-week numbers. In their second week on sale, Wale and Mr. But once the loyalists have spent their money, then what? Be mindful of the drop in sales from Week 1 to Week 2 - these artists have so far had only moderate success on radio, which is where albums go to not die.