All Articles Tagged "tha carter IV"
Tha Carter IV Reaffirms Lil Wayne's Power To Sell
By Charlotte Young
Rap and hip hop fans can argue over who beats who lyrically between Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne, but Lil Wayne holds a clear win on album sales this time around. His newest album “Tha Carter IV” sold a record setting 300,000 downloads on iTunes in its first four days, according to MTV News. This tops the first week sales for the Jay-Z and Kanye West “Watch the Throne” collaboration.
Lil Wayne, aka Weezy, released his album digitally directly after the 2011 VMAs last week. The Hollywood Report predicts he is set to bring in 850,000 sales this week, earning him the second biggest first-week sales of 2011, right behind Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” which gained 1.3 million in its June debut, although considering Lady Gaga sold her album at $1, it’s no surprise she sold more albums. Nielsen SoundScan also expects “Tha Carter IV” to come in at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week.
The numbers show that although Lil Wayne’s album leaked five days before its debut, the fans are still willing to spend to get his album. The rapper admitted after the VMAs that he was even glad it leaked as it allowed fans to get a sneak peek.
“It just means people want to hear it,” he told MTV News.
Cash Money CEO Birdman and Lil Wayne’s mentor had complete faith in Lil Wayne’s appeal. He promoted the album in the two weeks before its release and predicted it would sell just a million copies in the first week, but Birdman was no stranger to Lil Wayne’s achievements in the past. High album sales are no new feat for the New Orleans rapper.
“Tha Carter III” sold 1.01 million in its first week in June 2008. The combined numbers for “Tha Carter VI’s” physical and digital sales will make for the biggest first week for a hip hop album since its predecessor “Tha Carter III.”
In addition to Lil Wayne’s record breaking sales after the VMAs, other performing acts also saw a boost in record sales. Chris Brown saw a 43 percent increase for his album “F.A.M.E,” Beyonce’s 4” jumped up 87 percent and Adele’s 21 saw an 88 percent gain.
