Just Some Numbers

 •  Bloggers  •  by XXL Staff  •  38 Comments

Since it’s the first SoundScan Wednesday of 2009 and because I have access to SoundScan, I went back to check the numbers on 20 rap albums that came out in 2008.
What do you think?-VS

Lil Wayne – Tha Carter 3 – 2,900,400

Plies – Da Realest – 192,100

Common – Universal Mind Control – 166,400

Young Jeezy – The Recession – 719,200

Soulja Boy – iSouljaBoyTellEm – 92,100

Game – LAX – 643,300

Q-Tip – Renaissance – 98,300

G-Unit – T.O.S. – 240,700

E-40 – Ball Street Journal – 68,800

Ludacris – Theater of the Mind – 470,400

Nas – Untitled – 430,400

Killer Mike – I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind – 16,800

Kidz in the Hall – In Crowd – 20,200

Black Milk – Tronic – 7,200

Elzhi – Preface – 5,400

Ice Cube – Raw Footage – 183,400

Lil’ Mama – VYP – Voice of the Young People – 66,200

Foxy Brown – Brooklyn’s Don Diva – 24,800

Ace Hood – Gutta – 58,700

Kanye West – 808’s & Heartbreak – 1,094,900

  • Chris S

    pathetic year really.

    • LEO

      Foxy Brown had an album out??? WTF??? is it good? anybody?

      Nas is that nigga by the way…

      Anybody hear that new DMX snippet? DMX-Die Bitch…I like it

    • paychexx

      where’s papertrail?

  • Pierzy

    I was surprised by LAX…thought it had at least gone plat. And fortunately, Soulja Boy is still under 100K.

  • og bobby j

    who the fuck is buying the KanGay album?

    G-unit putting up ja rule numbers…..

  • http://www.uptownempire.com Trouble

    I bet Khaled pissed he spent all that money marketing and promoting Ace Hood, for him not to even sell 60,000. Im surprised that Recession and L.A.X arent plat yet.

  • tony grand$

    Outta all the aforementioned, E40 & Cube r prolly the only cats that made real paper.

    Them niggas go hard for themselves, without major backing. Cube practically funded his project alone, I’m pretty sure the same goes for Fonzarelli.

    So even if those cats didn’t get outrages sales, comfortability is a decent second choice, to me @ least.

    *$*

    • DV8

      co-sign that. I know for sure Cube made all the money from his sales. 40 is still signed to Warner but he probably has a great deal and plus he been independent grindin for years so he makes paper regardless.

  • http://1290wmcs.com “The Party Killa”

    Killer Mike – I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind – 16,800
    ^^^^
    Swear 2 God Im disappointed in these numbers. IMO. This was album of the year. When U speak of beats & rhymes wit substance, this shit was the hardest shit I’ve heard in a long time, along wit Face! Luckly he can get show $$$. He need to come to Milwaukee

    • FlapJack

      I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II came out in 08.. maybe the first one too. Both were some of the best shit I’ve heard in years.

      Did I hear he signed to Grand Hustle?

    • macdatruest

      Hell yea he need to hit The Mil up! I’ll check dude out at The Rave

      • Othello

        No you would’nt, you just say you would cause it sounds good. If Killer Mike came to Milwaukee you and everyone else would have some excuse why you missed the show.

    • Rob The Music Ed

      I’m with you Party Killer… very very very very dope and underrated album.

      I dunno if it’s my album of the year personally, but it’s in the Top 3. It was tuff we got a lot of good albums this year.

  • capt. obvious

    sadly enough that’s actually an improvement!

  • Ali

    your missin’ some there buddy…..Bun-B & The Roots, 2 of the best of 2008

  • http://shazisrad.blogspot.com superxshaz

    it’s saddening when Q Tip sells only a pinch more that SOULJA BOY.

    here’s hoping 2009 is LOADS better than 08!

  • http://www.theunderwriters.blogspot.com THE UNDERWRITER

    The Q-Tip #s are not encouraging. Hopefully you cats downloaded it for the freeski like me and are planning on seeing the live show. Pay this man.

  • JayTravel

    Nas-Untitled should have definitely sold more. Ludacris too. Kanye deserved to go plat for taking a risk that pushed boundaries.

  • http://www.myspace.com/crockerishiphop Crocker

    Wow. Now there goes five minutes I’ll never get back. Soundscan numbers. Thanks Number Nazi!

  • http://xxl ryan

    this is y hip hop sucks now. yall buy a kanye alum where he is singin n bullshit. yall buy a wayne album where he claims 2 b a so called thug. killer mike album was amazin dough. if most southern artist were lik him i wouldnt have a problem. also y do yall buy these rappers album where they r singin? aint hip hop suppose 2 b about MCs not r&b singers?
    great albums: killer mike
    good albums: e-40, ice cube, nas
    garbage: wayne, kanye, g-unit
    the rest were average at best
    n the reason y soulja boy wasnt in garbage is cuz his music is 4 kids.so stop hatin on him cuz he aint makin music for adults.

  • Chris Cash

    didnt T.I go Plat? why no mention?

    • Hate Hate and more Hate

      Maybe xxl came to their senses and didn’t want to give a snitch any shine

  • Hate Hate and more Hate

    lol @ lil mama outselling Ace never been to the Hood

  • yessir

    Where is T.I and JAY-Z?????????????????????????????????

    • sthxdnn

      dude jay-z didnt sell anything u dumbass

  • DV8

    looking at #’s is part of whats killing hiphop (thanks 50). True talent, artistry, and skills have taken a back seat to numbers as to whats really important in hiphop. I remember back in the mid-late 90′s when rappers would say these corny ass label heads and A&R would destroy what we built. And low and behold its true. They are all about the dollar. Fuck if you actually have skills, they want to know if you can sell make them money and dumb down your culture at the same time.

    • tony grand$

      Super cosign!!!!

      It just gives niggas, who already lack a large amount of substance, something else to brag bout.

      “Cars, money, murder, bitches……record sales”

      That in no way defines the level of skill they possess as an artist. Some of the best musicians go hard with no promotion, or financial backing. How’s a nigga from West BubbleFuck spossed to do numbers if he can’t get spins or put up posters.

      Meanwhile ur fav MC is a comic book character whose record label owns him to begin with.

      Hella sales does not = talent & tenacious determination.

    • FlapJack

      Don’t blame 50, that was all Jay.

  • sthxdnn

    PLIES & G-UNIT BEAT CUBE..HIP-HOP IS FUCKED…& Luda sold out along with NaS..and i dont record sales..those albums sucked…going over it the best cds were CUbe’s, Common’s[Which wasnt even that good] & Jeezys

  • sealsaa

    Damn, for someone that the general public no longer has an interest in, Nas out-sold most of the people on this list. Eat a dick Curtis.

  • NE WHERE GANG

    Cube cd was a classic should have went GOLD i dont give a fuck what nobody say & i aint saying that cuz of who Cube is

    Nas cd should have went platinum in 3 or 4 months

    Game – LAX should have went platinum

    G-Unit – T.O.S. = lol Nas outsold u Curtis if you’re so relevant to the general public u should at least go Gold pussy nigga

  • D

    damn… bad year for sales…… loved jeezy, hated common, hated nas, loved killer mike, liked black milk, LAX was good. carter 3 was good stop tryna act like u fucks didnt like it. i love TI and im glad hes gonna go 2x plat but damn that cd was bad. didnt expect ace to flop so hard!!! cd was ok!!

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  • BIGNAT

    thats the grind part 2 for killa mike and that was a very good album. i didn’t know forty water dropped something last year. ace hood dropped really who knew. i thought lil mama was dropped in 07 but what do i care i was not looking for it anyway. another thing foxy dropped a album where the fuck have i been must have been a shit sandwhich.

  • Scorpion

    Terminate On Sight was one of my favorite albums. Uncontested. That ablum was serious! I haven’t listened to Ice Cube’s Raw Footage but I heard it was desent. Shout out to Common &
    Q-Tip.

  • southcakc23

    It’s sad that the best album of 2008 sold the 3rd lowest on the albums listed. Killer Mike’s “I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II” was, hands down, the best album of 2008. It’s a damn shame. 16,800? Those numbers seem a bit low too.

    Oh, and for anyone that purchased T.O.S. and thought it was a good album, you should stop commenting on hip hop sites; being a fan of G-unit period is grounds for excommunication from the hip hop world.

  • Ivy

    That’s Missing a few albums actually…

  • Stylez

    How the fuck did Nas sell out, that album is probably his most political.