Big K.R.I.T. and Curren$y Debut in the Top 10 of Billboard

Two former XXL Freshmen entered the Billboard 200 charts this past week with their major label releases.

Friends Big K.R.I.T. and Curren$y secured the No. 5 and No. 8 spots, respectively, in their first weeks on the charts. Krizzle's Def Jam debut, Live from the Underground, sold 41,100 units, to come in as the highest charting rap release of the week. Just three spots below him, Curren$y, who featured K.R.I.T. on his The Stoned Immaculate, moved 36,100 copies of his Warner Bros. release.

After hitting No. 13 last week, Nicki Minaj fell 10 spots, as her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded sold 13,500 copies, now two months removed from its April release. The sophomore album has sold 521,500 units to date.

Nicki's Young Money label mate, Drake, was one of only two other hip-hop artists to secure a spot in this week's top 50. His second album, Take Care, hit No. 46, after moving 8,300 copies, bringing his total to 1.77 million in the nearly seven months since the album's release. Just one spot under Drizzy, B.o.B and his Strange Clouds, yet another sophomore album, sold 8,200, which brings his six week total to 149,000.

There were a number of notable releases yesterday which have the potential to chart next week. Recent XXL cover subject Waka Flocka delivered his sophomore album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family, on Warner Bros., while 2012 XXL Freshman Kid Ink dropped his independent debut album, Up & Away, through his Tha Alumni Music Group. Another indie artist, Stange Music's Stevie Stone, also has been making his presence felt on the iTunes charts so far this week, with his Rollin' Stone album, which should land on the 200 next week, as well. —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)