Best Album Alive? Nas Wrests No.1 Spot from Lil Wayne
Wednesday July 23, 2008
Even without a title, Nas managed to land his 5th No.1 debut this week. Untitled dethroned Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III from the top spot after selling 187,000 copies in the U.S., according to Billboard.com.
Carter III, on the other hand, has now moved to No.2 with 105,000 copies sold at the end of the 7-day cycle.
Nas' numbers appear dismal in comparison to his last album, Hip-Hop Is Dead, which debuted at No.1 with 354,000 copies back in 2006. I find it surprising that Untitled didn't even crack the 200K mark after all the buzz and controversy that surrounded its release.
Photo © Def Jam
Comments
NaS isn’t as “hot” as Wayne is right now, and I am NOT a fan of Wayne. Nas’ lasest is a great album and good tunes is good tunes no matter what or who you are. A lot of people are talking about it and with all the positive reviews I suspect word of mouth that “it slaps” will help album sales long term.
Nas is the greatest ever,period
Brian, please don’t ever post a comment in a hip hop forum or anything to do with hip hop, because you clearly don’t understand what it’s about.
Lil wayne could rap for 100 years and he’d never produce an album as meaningful as a Nas album, and thats the truth.
Hip Hop, is not about being ‘hot’
being hot is about being popular, hip hop isin’t about being popular, hip hop is about the struggle in the streets, growing up, telling a story through yuor lyrics, paiting pictures with them
some nas songs i can listen to and i can see whats he’s saying like a movie inside my head..
if you’re 100% a nas fan, then you’re never gonna be a huge wayne fan, because lyrically, he’s just in the same category as..
Inspectah Deck, Common, AZ, GZA, Rakim, KRS One, Big L, Big Pun, 2pac…
and thats not even mentioning nas.
sorry brian, i only read the first line of your comment when i posted.
i find it shameful that wayne has taken the spotlight amongst others such as souljah boy, jeezy and rick ross. Nas is probably one the few cats who can actually go out and say im the best rapper alive and id vibe wit that. but i dont blame lil wayne and these pplz i blame hip hop fans, the definition of a true hip hop fan has changed over time, pplz dont want that amazing lyricism that nas, rakim, jayz, immortal technique and others bring to the table. For hip hop to change it has to be a group effort, and i dont think it will ever change back to how it was in the 90’s period in where i thought hip hop was at its prime. I feel sad that Nas didnt sell liek weezy, because i could easily select juss one song from untitled that i would listen to more often the the whole carter 3 album. Nas is the truth i wish all the best to him.
I copped the new album and I have been pushin my patnas to buy it and anyone I know. Its a shame it might get slept on because of the main stream society minded people these days. If it aint a club banger people dont care. Catch him on tour with another great artist Talib Kweli, Ill be there.
** ATTENTION READ THIS **
LIL WAYNE HAS A RAW! NO DOUBT. BUT I THINK HE IS OVERRATED*** TO ME HIS MUSIC IS MORE LIKE POP MUSIC. HIP HOP IS MUSIC LIKE LUPE FIASCO,KANYE WEST,THE GAME,NAS, JAY-Z…U GET WHAT IM SAYIN?..HES ALWAYS SAYIN HE IS THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE ..LOL…HE MUST FORGOT JAY-Z AND NAS ARE STILL ALIVE.
Graeme Handley, R U saying Lil Wayne is lyrically in the same category as Inspectah Deck, Common, AZ, GZA, Rakim, KRS One, Big L, Big Pun, 2pac. I hope not.
Lil’ Wayne is too far gone on drugs, remember when he was profound? Like when he was with BG – too bad Wayne has had a few two many cups full of purple
new mixtapes
Graeme Handley, thanks for the clarification. Of course I know hip hop isn’t ABOUT being “hot.” Nevertheless, as much as I dont like Wayne, I havent seen another artist’s song get so much attention on radio and in clubs.
I know radio sucks for the most part, including here in the Bay Area (YES! I said it!) and most would classify radio hop hop more as Pop music than real hip hop. I was recently at a club using the men’s room. Lollipop started playing and no joke, both dudes in the bathroom said, “the DJ is playing Lollipop! We have to get out there on the dance floor.” Something like that speaks volumes to the popularity of Wayne. Thats what I meant by “hot”
You also bring up some GREAT MCs but Id be REALLY curious to know how many of you picked up the newest Del the funky homosapian album, or the new Lyrics Born album, or the new Atmosphere cd, or the new Roots, or the new Live Rakim cd (which has new and unreleased material), new living legends, the new KRS album.
I don’t think anyone really cares about C3 being upstaged by Nas. Remember, when Viva La Vida (Coldplay’s album) came out, it topped Wayne for a couple weeks. Think about it.
I understand that some people are sad at the state of hiphop today. While I, like others grew up in a different era of hiphop and loved it, I have to say that I also love what hiphop has grown to be today. An industry that is giving young black youth an arena to express themselves, however they so may choose whether you like it or not, and get youth out the hood at the same time. I can’t say that I like all the “music” per say, but I love the fact that a 17 year old black kid can be living in the projects one year and the next create a song the the whole world is listening to, not to mention getting paid for it. You got to love that if you truly love hiphop. While the hiphop industry has it flaws and setbacks and misappropriation of profits at times you still got take look at the bright side and be a agent for change and stop complaining. If you love hiphop you would not sit around worrying about what record is selling and which one is not. Nas is a rebel, a revolutionary, a soldier in this. Whether he sell 1 million or 10 the world will hear Nas’s voice. Obviously he knows this. Stop hating and start participating and make hiphop what it has, been, is and will always be the voice of the street. You want to see hiphop change, and I don’t mean go back to the “golden era”, but move forward, help the community progress. Hiphop will reflect that. In the mean time get money, live life.
Lil Wayne has crazy lyrics, some people like them, some people love them, some people criticize them.
To cite a couple- Chillin like a scarecrow looking for some brain;— I don’t O U like two vowels.
The truth is that although Weezy has a pop culture taste to him he spits mad lyrics, and it is his own style, you cannot deny him credit for the work he has done. Whether he is the best rapper alive is another issue, don’t hate on him because of his originality. He can actually step up tonnes of tracks, and everyone will say he killed them, theres no doubt that he’s probably the only rapper alive who does it in his volume at that rate of success. He also does have real meaningful songs, for example duck season, prostitute, and i’m me to name a few.
To those who say he doesn’t have a brain, he was enroled in a class for students with special abilities when younger, think about what you’re saying. He is raw talent, the only thing I can criticize him for is his drug usage.
He is definitely my top 5 of all time, and he still has more to come.