Lil Wayne vs. Every Other Rapper: The SoundScan Showdown

 •  News  •  by jesse  •  54 Comments

Say what you will about Lil Wayne’s fashion sense, but when it comes to bringing consumers out to stores, Weezy F. Baby never disappoints. Between 2008’s Tha Carter III and his Tha Carter IV follow-up, which dropped last week, the Young Money captain always seems to sling the most CDs. Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I., 50 Cent eat your heart, Wayne is undeniably the king of first-week sales in hip-hop. Don’t believe it, check the chart. As Young Money president Mack Maine said on Twitter, “A old head once said…..‘Men lie women lie numbers don’t (sic).’ —Jesse Gissen


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  • m.w.

    take care could come close

  • http://thisis50 Delroy

    Thats Low Blow J he used your own words against ya’ll

    Men lie,women lie numbers don’t and he called ya’ll old damn

  • theroach

    men lie, women lie, numers dont HUH then why does everyone not wanna talk about how most of the albums overall sold more the both of waynes? or lets just go with the fact will smith “big willie style” sold more than waynes entire catalog… will smith 1 cd sold more than all of waynes combined… numbers dont lie get off waynes nuts!

    • that nigga

      And the irony in that is that Nas wrote most of “Big Willie Style”!!!

  • matty21

    this is true, but numbers do not tell the complete story; in so many cases besides this one too…in the present time and with the present music, of these artists in particular – these numbers dont neccessarily tell what the streets are feeling and respecting the most, artistically… i mean what artists are most involved in peoples day2day lives and thought about n shit like that; whats in peoples cars most, what videos r watched, whats thought about and looked to for inspiration and learning, what means something… that 4sure what tells the story 2 me, not numbers; not even close… they dont lie, 4sure…but whats felt, and means something, and will be around and looked at 20-30 years from now is by far what means more and is sooo much more important

  • matty21

    to me – u a fool if u dont know that, or better – become aware of that at some point

  • Rhys

    Hate when people talk about first week sales.

    Recovery sold less than tha carter 3 in the first week, but it has now sold over a million more than it in less than a year.

    • http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/09/lil-wayne-vs-every-other-rapper-the-soundscan-showdown/?replytocom=2353572#respond Sum-guy

      recovery went to 4mil like last week and TC3 has sold 3.8 Million so far, so 1 Mil is an exaggeration & TC3 was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Recovery (wish i could say the same as TC4). Look I reckon Eminem is one of the dopest rappers no doubt but Relapse was a flop and it still went double platinum, so that tells me eminem fans do not really know what good music is and Tha Carter 4 was okay (not great). but THA CARTER 3 was the last classic rap album and nobodyy can deny that and he once was the best rapper alive… too bad he fell off

      • Joey

        Recovery has actually sold around 5.7 million while, and actually sold great in countries worldwide, unlike wayne. Recovery and tha carter 3 are close and personally i think recovery is a little better and unlike wayne, eminem consistently puts amazing albums. Relapse wasn’t even a flop, it was bad for eminem, compared to what we expect of him and he knows it. The ways the songs were put together wasnt nearly as good as usual but the lyrical genius of eminem was still present, unlike wayne. Wayne’s last like 3 albums were flops, eminem has 1 below par album, wayne has 3 or 4 and recently put out probably the worst lil wayne mixtape to date.

        • http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/09/lil-wayne-vs-every-other-rapper-the-soundscan-showdown/?replytocom=2354940#respond SUM-GUY

          im talkin bout in america… as for the rest of the stuff you said, your entitled to your own opinion

  • Geec

    The Marshall Mathers LP 1.76 million stupid idiots, TC4 is wack.

    • http://xxl factsoflife

      thats right 1.76 in one week, why does xxl always over look that? and that was just in the u.s … its so funny how xxl overlooks that and everyone else. envy is a bitch!!

  • ali

    you’re showing figures from when record sales have slumped, overall 50 Cent, Eminem & Kanye West hold that crown. & for the most part, mainly females purchase lil wayne albums….cause lets be real here, the quality of material he puts out does not compare to the classics released by 50, eminem, kanye, jay-z, nas, lupe. its just polish over substance right now

  • James

    this is because tons of narrow minded teens want the latest sh*t, regardless of quality. there is no way lil wayne is better than half the other artists listed there, and tbh i don’t even like some of them! he can’t actually rap, and thats final

    • http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/09/lil-wayne-vs-every-other-rapper-the-soundscan-showdown/?replytocom=2353601#respond Gerry-From-Subway

      if that were true Rebirth & I Am Not A Human Being would have gone platinum… so u r infact wrong

  • FrankDuke 2424

    Yo numbers do lie why dont yall rank those albums Wayne albums were the worst up there And besides Wayne is a big deal to the Gey Population its probally half his sales

  • massive

    wezzy f baby…. still #1……best rapper alive….fuck all ymcmb haters…….

  • massive

    ppl are actually listening and not hearing…..wezzy best rapper alive….haha I know these hatters are really undercover fans…
    yyyymmmmcccccmmmmmmbbbbbbb………../

    • In Arkansas

      Get off his D*ck fool, and tell yo tramp to come here

  • Believe in yo self

    Who gives a good GOT DAYUM!!!!! Errbody wants to count someone elses’s bank account! Losers!

  • L

    Take it how you wanna but you gotta respect Lil Waynes hustle, buuuut his album was ass just so happened theres alotta white people like myself that dont understand good music i.e: Nas, Jigga, Big, J.Cole, Blu you know the real hip hop

  • Sean Izzle

    Seeing this album sales list, some of the best and some of my absolute favorite albums are right there. I only now got one question: Where is the west coast. Its completely or…ALMOST dead :/ foreals

  • Sean Izzle

    DJ Toomp produced music on 5 of the albums in the list above!

    Props to my man DJ Toomp :)

    Love that guy yall better recognize

  • Alan

    This article is somewhat wrong! Now it only goes back to 2008…and somehow forgot that Eminem earlier albums have sold more it’s first week compared to Lil Waynes first week numbers. Plus Recovery, if I’m correct, is at 4 Million now? Correct me if I’m wrong. But this list has very little cred. Compare an artist entire collection…not the last two!

  • allhiphop>xxlmag

    if numbers don’t lie, then why did you forget to include Rebirth, We Are Young Money and I Am Not A Human Being? And Bad Meets Evil. Those numbers will be interesting to look at.

  • JahiSalaam

    thats a shame, this generation doesnt even like Nas more than Lil Wayne? Smh. At least hes from NO

  • brown_bomber

    Numbers don’t lie. Lil wayne album sales show that the majority of Americans are not smart.

  • http://xxlmag.com yogi22

    Get’em Wayne!! LMAO

  • DORTIZ

    Listen Wayne, is a superstar. We’re not talking about sales of 90s albums where people couldn’t download music for free like they can now. Wayne is doing everything right, he is on many guest appearances including the YM family, not to mention Wayne had made a rock album (Rebirth) that went GOLD, also an album was released while he was in prison that was for download only (I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING) which also went GOLD. He is strictly doing music that appeals to the masses. Also, he is only 28 with all this success in this digital age. Props where pros are due. Lastly, Tha Carter IV is ill. Listen to Megaman (my lyrical highlight from him on the album) for Wayne being a beast. The Intro (Weezy), Interlude (Tech N9ne & 3 Stacks), Outro (Bun B, Nas, Shyne & Busta) all that on the same beat how can this not be a classic album with a dope concept.

  • http://QKB QueenKrissyB~ChristinaBLove

    what about R.E.D.

  • TheArchitect

    what about outkast? hell, even MC Hammer… right? how many albums went diamond?

  • http://xxl arguemental

    only reason he sales so much is because he is black !!! how about them apples !!!

  • D

    i guess niggas at XXL dont know their history. Eminem went platinum twice first week and his greatest hits outsold tha carter II. Numbers dont lie

  • Michael

    LOL whoever wrote this article is one bias motherfucker. Why is the timeline from The Carter III? Cause that was wayne’s best selling album? There are MANY hip-hop artists that have sold A LOT more than wayne in one week. Eminem, Will Smith, Outkast, 50 Cent, etc. Dickrider.

  • http://www.youronlinemusicproducer.com mark

    WEEZY F BABY WHAT IS YALL BLIND THIS NIG JUST TOLD THE WORLD HE HAS SEX WITH BABY IN HIS NICK NAME .HOLD UP DIDNT THEY KISS THUG LOVE RIGHT LOL.

  • HighlyGifted

    Hate, Hate, Hate!!! Thats all I see on the comment thread…If you can read you will see that it dates back to 2008. Stop living in the past and give the man some respect whether you fuck wit his music or not. Its clear to see that Weezy is dominating Hip-Hop when it comes to record sales!!

    • shane

      from 2009 to 2011.EMINEM SOLD 7.5 Mil albums to Lil Waynes 3 mil in the US alone..so how the fuck is lil wayne dominating,,eminem is still dominating Rap

  • Aaron

    That’s right. So it should include Rebirth and I Am Not a Human Being. The only reason the album sold the way it did was because of it being a part of “Tha Carter” series. I’m also curious how many copies Baby bought and will be expecting to see an 80% decrease next week. This will not have the staying power that Recovery had on the charts.

  • JWill

    Why didn’t you include “Rebirth” and the “I am a human being EP”? I guess because they didn’t sell fairly well compared to the albums listed above?

  • Tru Talk

    50′s album leaked 1month and 5 days ahead of time, don’t get it confused……. And Eminems Recovery wasn’t as big as expected first week but its been out a year and is still pullin in 30,000 a week

  • SmokeyRebelz

    Bais chart… what happed to Rebirth and I’m Not A Human Being? otherwise you should’ve compared everybody’s best 1st week sales – apples go with apples!! Wayne tha man tho, but Em, better at it….

  • manuelsilva

    love how they overlook the eminem show, which sold over a million in a week as well as the marshall mathers lp. i like wayne. but dont say he’s the king of 1st week sales when your clearly overlooking other artists. dumbfucks

  • Gabe

    How do you even forget that Eminem did 1.7 million in the first week with the Marshal Mathers LP?

    How many diamond albums does wayne have?

    Man even 50 did over 1 mil in a week even better his was a 4 day week

  • didntdoit

    I guesse 50 cent has a classic
    eminem has many
    kanye has at least 2
    jay also
    what about wayne?

    guessse hes just another vanilla ice *ss rapper
    dont let the numbers fool you, it doesn’t mean shiit

    also smh @ xxl for callin this ‘the first week showdown’
    and not including sales pre c3

    2

  • http://Twitter.com/downininfamy Infamous_R_

    I Refuse To Hate On Wayne. Financially That Nigga Puts Hip Hop In A Good Space. But It Would Inaccurate Jesse Gissen Not To Talk About The Lackluster First Week Numbers Of Rebirth (176,000) And I Am Not A Human Being (125,000).

  • Frunk

    Funny how they didnt include The Graduation by Kanye Oh which it was released the same year as Carter III ..Smh XXL

  • Frunk

    Funny how they didnt include The Graduation by Kanye Of which it was released the same year as Carter III & Sold 957,000 First week ..Smh XXL

  • Strange_Music

    Sales dont mean shit. . . Just means he is popular. . Its kinda like having the highest selling NFL jersey. . . only means your popular. . .

  • Big Mike

    Lil Wayne tha numbers dont mean nothing your still not tha best rapper alive so jus get over it really wat grown man run around talking bout tha best rapper alive F u an young money

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  • YMCMB

    Lil wayne is just the best rapper alive .. Lil wayne can sell 1 milli in one week but it might take other rappers a whole year to sell that much lmao . it is what it is .

    • shady records

      eminem MMLP fastest selling hiphop album of all time 1.76 mil in its first week..the eminem show 1,32 mil albums sold in its first week em wins….in a contest king of hiphop by rolling stone from 2009 to 2011.EMINEM SOLD 7.5 Mil albums to Lil Waynes 3 mil albums in that time period and lil wayne had 2 albums in 2010 and 1 in 2011…eminem had 1 ALBUM in that time Period and he still won.EMINEM IS KING

      • shady records

        sorry eminem had 2 albums in that time period and both selling more than any of waynes albums in that time…