LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 26: Rapper Lil Wayne performs onstage during the BET Awards '11 held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLil Wayne‘s new album Tha Carter IV will undoubtedly hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, but it will also likely surpass first-week sales of Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s Watch the Throne.
On Monday, initial projections for Tha Carter IV were around the 700,000 to 850,000 copies, Billboard reports, but after one day in stores, that number has jumped up to 850,000 to 900,000 by Sunday, Sept. 4. The album was released Monday at midnight.
If Tha Carter IV sells more than 850,000 copies, it will be the biggest sales week for a hip-hop album or by a male artist since Tha Carter III was released in mid-June 2008.
Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne debuted atop the Billboard charts, selling 436,000 copies its first week out. Some industry experts were expecting the album to sell at least half a million copies.
Significant to note is the unique release strategy for Watch the Throne. It was released digitally on iTunes on Monday, days prior to it being available in traditional record stores. The team-up broke an iTunes sales record by selling nearly 290,000 downloads; the record was previously held by Coldplay‘s 2008 album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, which sold 282,000 in its first week.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ latest album I’m With You is expected to take the No. 2 slot on the Billboard 200.
Billboard contributed to this report.
