15 Highest-Selling Debut Rap Albums In Hip-Hop History
Ask anybody who has asked a person of the opposite sex for a date... First impressions are important. In life, a limp first impression can permanently ruin your chances for success, hurt your career or inadvertently create enemies for life. It happens.
There is nothing quite like nailing that first opportunity. Whether, you are a professional athlete dominating your first game in the league, or you nail a job interview or you craft the perfect line to holler at hottie. There is nothing like the euphoria when you get things right the first time.
In hip-hop, there are artists who simply nail their first impressions with the public. For hip-hop's most talented, they come up with the perfect alchemy to impress the public on the first day out, selling millions of records and cementing themselves as some of hip-hop's most historic figures. XXL has compiled a list of hip-hop's highest-selling debut in history.
15. Kanye West - The College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
Debut: February 10, 2004
Sales: 3.2 Million
12 (Tied). Ma$e - Harlem World
Debut: October 28, 1997
Sales: 4 Million
12. (Tied) Kriss Kross - Totally Krossed Out (Ruffhouse)
Debut: March 31, 1992
Sales: 4 Million
12 (Tied). The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die (Bad Boy)
Debut: September 13, 1994
Sales: 4 Million
11. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (Death Row)
Debut: December 15, 1992
Sales: 4.6 Million
10. DMX - It's Dark & Hell Is Hot (Ruff Ryders/Def Jam)
Debut: May 12, 1998
Sales: 4.7 Million
9. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E 1999 Eternal (Ruthless/Relativity)
Debut: July 25, 1995
Sales: 5.1 Million
8. Puff Daddy & The Family - No Way Out (Bad Boy)
Debut: July 1, 1997
Sales: 5.2 Million
7. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (Aftermath/Interscope/Web)
Debut: February 23, 1999
Sales: 5.4 Million Copies
6. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle (Death Row)
Debut: November 23, 1993
Sales: 5.5 Million
Sales: 6.1 Million
5. Vanilla Ice - To The Extreme (SBK Records)
Debut: August 28, 1990
Sales: 7 Million
4. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia)
Debut: August 25, 1998
Sales: 7.1 Million
3. Nelly - Country Grammar (Universal/Fo' Reel)
Debut: June 27, 2000
Sales: 8.5 Million
2. 50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Aftermath/Interscope/Shady)
Debut: February 6, 2000
Sales: 8.9 Million
1. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (Def Jam)
Debut: November 15, 1986
Sales: 9 Million
More From XXL








