Photo Credit: @thegame Instagram
By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
It’s no secret that the economy is having an effect on album sales. However, music labels have found some bright spots with some numbers some artists are bringing in despite the recession. Taylor Swift’s current album Red sold over one million records in its first week. Then of course there is Adele, a singer who goes against the mainstream pop star requirements, and has managed to outsell some of the biggest pop stars of today. So it’s certainly possible that any artist can sell a huge number of albums, but a solid fan base and a great album tends to make it a little bit more achievable. Some genres just sell more than others, as it is to be expected that those who are considered more Pop/Mainstream are expected to comfortably sell over 100,000 albums in their first week sales. However, genres such as Rap and R&B can be a little harder to call.
Rapper Game has been all over the place promoting his current studio album Jesus Piece. Of course it would be the controversial album cover that would make more headlines than the actual music itself. Despite the controversy surrounding the album cover, bringing Jesus on stage and arguing with a big time Fox News correspondent, Game’s first week album sales for Jesus Piece sit at 86,585 according to Hits Daily Double. This would make the album a certified flop, and has to be even more disappointing considering that the rapper currently has a reality show on VH1 that seems to have performed well on the network.
Big Boi, the other half of the legendary group Outkast, also saw disappointing first week album sales. His current album Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors only sold 29,087 copies. These numbers come just weeks after Andre 3000 makes it clear that another Outkast album just may not ever happen at this point.
Of course not every rapper is struggling to sell albums. Wiz Khalifa may be expecting the arrival of his first child with Amber Rose, but he also has more great news to celebrate. The rapper ‘s fourth studio album O.N.I.F.C. sold 148,000 copies its first week. Although the album was released December 4, this week, Wiz sold an additional 36,000 copies. These great numbers in album sales comes just days after the rapper’s hometown declared December 12 Wiz Khalifa Day.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! @ The Game
This is what he gets for that blasphemous album cover. Don’t play with God.
Amen!!!
Damn I’m kind of sad about Big Boi though! I didn’t even know he had an album out! *Goes to iTunes*
I do not like making light of anyone’s failures. As much as I dislike the Game, I hope he can rebound. Hopefully this will humble him and he can actually make quality music.
I really didn’t expect Big Boi or Game to sell. If you don’t have a white fan base, you will flop. Period.
Not all the way true. Kendrick proved that.
Damn, Big Boi only sold 30,000 copies? What in the hell? That really sucks. Did they even try to promote his music? I haven’t heard it anywhere.
I don’t care about Game flopping. He was doing the most.
I don’t think there was a lot of promoting for Big Boi’s album cause I didn’t hear about it until I saw it at Best Buy!
I’m happy for Wiz, sad for Big Boi and laughing at Game. That album cover was so over the top and it still did not translate into album sales. Just like Nicki’s flopping album, gimmicks aren;t enough anymore.