Lil Wayne cracks 1 million

First artist since 50 Cent to hit the mark in a single week

By Geoff Mayfield, Billboard

June 17, 2008, 11:01 PM ET

With "Tha Carter III," Lil Wayne becomes the first artist since 50 Cent in 2005 to sell more than 1 million copies of an album in a single week, according to chart reports that will be issued Wednesday morning by Nielsen SoundScan.

In its first week on the market, "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money/Universal) sells just over 1 million units. The last album to top that milestone was 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in March 2005.

No album in 2006 sold as many as 800,000 copies in a single frame, and the largest sales week since "The Massacre" belonged to Kanye West's "Graduation," which netted an opener of 957,000 copies last year when it hit stores on Sept. 11.

Lil Wayne first appeared on the Billboard 200 in 1999. His previous biggest sales week was a 238,000-unit start for "Tha Carter II" in 2005. That set entered The Billboard 200 at No. 2 while becoming his fourth No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Lil Wayne cracks 1 million

First artist since 50 Cent to hit the mark in a single week

By Geoff Mayfield, Billboard

June 17, 2008, 11:01 PM ET