B.o.B. Leads the Three Rap Acts on Billboard Top 40

With no new hip-hop releases hitting the shelves last week, reps of the genre are few and far between on this week’s Billboard 200 sales chart, with only three rap acts even making it into the Top 40.

Leading the pack is Atlanta upstart B.o.B. with his major label debut The Adventures of Bobby Ray. The 2009 XXL Freshman fell one spot to No. 13 in his third week on the charts, selling an additional 27,400 units. Overall the ATLien sold 147,800 to date according to the Nielsen SoundScan.

Five slots down at No. 19 is the Black Eyed Peas. The pop-rap group’s Grammy-nominated disc, The E.N.D., picked up 18,800 more units in sales this week, making their 49-week tally stand at 2,517,700.

Ten more positions down is Chicago-born superstar Ludacris. The rapper/actor’s new LP, Battle of the Sexes, climbed four spots this go-round to No. 29. In his tenth week ’Cris moved 14,200 units, bringing his total numbers to 404,900.

Next week look for Nas and Damian Marley and Reflection Eternal to make it onto the charts. —Elan Mancini