On this week's R&B/Hip-Hop charts, Mary J. Blige has a "breakthrough," Jamie Foxx is "unpredictable," and The Notorious B.I.G. returns for the "final chapter." This week sees the Billboard 200 dominated by R&B and rap. Leading the pack is the queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige with her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough. The set, rocketing 73-1, testifys to the personal growth of this powerful performer and features guests such as Jay-Z, Raphael Saadiq and Bono from U2. Powered by the single "Be Without You," it also bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earns her her third Pop No. 1 set.
Singer/actor Jamie Foxx also gets an even bigger boost this week, shooting 81-2 with his album Unpredicatable. Although many think this is his first album, it's actually the sophomore follow-up to 1994's Peep This. The set bows at No. 2 on the pop chart.
Late rapper The Notorious B.I.G. appears at the top of the Rap Albums chart with Duets: The Final Chapter and also enjoys the title of this week's "hot shot debut" on the R&B album chart. Executive-produced by Diddy, the celebrity-laden set also ranks at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and comes almost nine years after his death. Sitting at the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs chart is the above-mentioned track from this week's queen. "Be Without You" ranks as the week's greatest airplay gainer and earns the No. 1 spot this week, taking it over from Mariah Carey's "Don't Forget About Us." However on the pop chart, Carey's track retains the top spot for a second week in a row.
Chris Brown's "Run It!" gets kudos for earning the title of this week's greatest gainer in sales, even as it enjoys No. 1 on the Pop 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Also performing well is Beyoncé's "Check On It" featuring Slim Thug which counts as the Billboard 100's biggest sales gainer and climbs 8-7. Other notable debuts include Ludacris & Field Mob's "Georgia"
featuring Jamie Foxx, which ranks as the Hot 100's top debut at No. 48; T-Pain's "I'm N Luv
(Wit a Stripper)" featuring Mike Jones at No. 87; and Chris Brown's "Yo
(Excuse Me Miss)" at No. 89.
Visit our album and single charts for this week's listings.
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