Who would have thought a Kamikaze with a twist could stop 2004’s sobering sales slump?
Chicago emcee Twista, named the world’s fastest rapper by the Guinness Book of World Records, landed the first chart-topping debut of the year with his major label bow, Kamikaze. For the week ended Sunday, Kamikaze took the top spot with 312,000 copies, according to Nieslen SoundScan, giving Twista the best sales week so far this year.
The Chi-town rapper, who’s appeared on albums by Jay-Z, Ludacris, P. Diddy and Timbaland, released a handful of albums dating back to 1991. His last solo outing, 1997’s Adrenaline Rush, quietly sold more than 800,000 copies fueled by underground buzz. Twista’s latest release, however, benefited from a huge radio single, “Slow Jamz,” featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx .
With Twista on top, OutKast dropped back to the number two spot. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below sold another 84,000 copies in its 19th week.
After dropping from the Top 10 for several weeks, Britney Spears ‘ In the Zone continued to claw its way back, reaching number six on the current chart. Likewise, Chingy again cracked the Top 10, coming in at number nine this week as his latest hit, “One Call Away,” reenergized his 29-week old Jackpot.
The rest of the Top 10, all holdovers, were: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow at three, Evanescence’s Fallen at four, Ruben Studdard’s Soulful at five, Toby Keith ‘s Shock’n Y’All at seven, the 2004 Grammy Nominees at eight and Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 14 at 10.
Outside the Top 10, the charts were jammed with compilations and hits collections. The double-disc dance collection Fired Up! led the pack at 14 selling north of 50,000 copies. The release features toe-tapping songs by Madison Avenue, Aqua, Everything But the Girl, Melanie C, and the Funky Green Dogs.
Another double-disc collection, WOW Gospel 2004, followed at 27 with 31,000 copies sold. Contributing artists include Kirk Franklin, Smokie Norful, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. A few spots down, Disneymania 2 landed at 29 with a lineup that includes the likes of Hilary Duff , LMNT and Jump 5 delivering power-pop renditions of Disney classics like “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “A Whole New World.”
Other compilations cracking this charts included the Cure’s Join the Dots: B-Sides and Rarities 1978-2001 at 106, Yes’ Ultimate Yes: 35th Anniversary Collection at 131, and Time-Life’s positive rock disc, Committed 2 Rock, at 149.
Elsewhere, France’s electro-duo Air debuted at 61 with the double-disc set Talkie Walkie, featuring the song “Alone in Kyoto” from Lost in Translation. Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams opened at 120 with her second solo effort, the gospel-flavored Do You Know. Country singer Mindy Smith checked in at 143 with her debut disc, One More Moment.
Stereolab wrapped up the week’s new releases with Margerine Eclipse at 174. This album, the group’s 10th full-length overall, is the first without singer Mary Hansen, who was fatally struck by a car in 2002.
Though it feels like he’s been around forever, 50 Cent celebrates his one-year chart anniversary this week with Get Rich or Die Tryin’ at 67. The rookie rapper’s debut disc sold 872,000 copies his first week setting a slew of records, including the best single-week sales of 2003.
To recap, the Top 10 discs for the week ended Sunday were as follows:
1. Kamikaze, Twista 2. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, OutKast 3. The Very Best of Sheryl Crow, Sheryl Crow 4. Fallen, Evanescence 5. Soulful, Ruben Studdard 6. In the Zone, Britney Spears 7. Shock’n Y’All, Toby Keith 8. 2004 Grammy Nominees, various 9. Jackpot, Chingy 10. Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 14, various
Credit: E! Online