Twista’s Return Hits Hard On Billboard 200 (original) (raw)

Fueled by hit single "Slow Jamz," Twista's "Kamikaze" bows at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, giving the Chicago-bred rapper his best week ever on the big chart. The Atlantic album sells 312,000 copies…

Fueled by hit single “Slow Jamz,” Twista’s “Kamikaze” bows at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, giving the Chicago-bred rapper his best week ever on the big chart. The Atlantic album sells 312,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and almost reaches the to-date total of Twista’s 1998 release “Mobstability.” The latter peaked at No. 34, and has sold 397,000 copies to date.

Twista’s “Slow Jamz,” which also features Kayne West and Jamie Foxx, has become one of the breakout hits of the new year. The single has already spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks tally, and has made the top-5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and the magazine’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. “Kamikaze” is the only album this week to top the 100,000-copy mark.

Twista’s arrival sends OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” (Arista) down to No. 2. Sales of the dual set fall only 2% to 85,000 copies. Yet the album should continue to perform well in the week leading up to Sunday’s (Feb. 8) Grammy Awards, as the Atlanta-based hip-hop duo is tied with Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams with a leading six nominations.

“The Very Best of Sheryl Crow” (A&M) is also pushed down one slot to No. 3, as sales dip about 1.5% to 80,000 copies. Evanescence’s Wind-Up debut “Fallen” sees a 6% sales increase to 74,000 copies, but the album slides one spot to No. 4.

Ruben Studdard is able to hold at No. 5 with his “Soulful” (J Records). Sales are up 4.5% to 70,000 copies. Britney Spears continues to benefit from new single “Toxic,” as her “In the Zone” (Jive) album scoots 10-6 on a 3.3% sales burst to 63,000 copies.

Sales of Toby Keith’s “Shock’n Y’all” (DreamWorks/Interscope) are down about 8% to 60,000 copies, sending the album down one spot to No. 7. The multi-artist “2004 Grammy Nominations” album (BMG Strategic Marketing) slides 4-8 on a 13% sales dip to 59,000 copies.

Chingy’s “Jackpot” (Priority/Capitol) benefits from MTV’s “Making the Video” feature on new single “One Call Away.” The set shoots up the chart 15-9 on a 29% sales burst to 58,000 copies, giving the album a to-date total of 2 million units.

Rounding out the top-10 is the 14th volume in the hits compilation series “NOW That’s What I Call Music!” (Universal/EMI/Zomba/Sony). Sales of the set are down about 11% to 56,500 copies.

A number of compilation albums make their bow this week on the chart. The two-disc dance collection “Fired Up!” (Razor & Tie) lands at No. 14 with 50,00 copies, the 2004 edition of “WOW Gospel,” released by Verity Records, enters at No. 27 with 32,000 copies and Disney’s “DisneyMania 2” arrives at No. 29 with 31,100 copies.

Also new this week is Air’s “Talkie Walkie” (V2), which enters at No. 61 with 18,700 copies. The group’s 2001 album “10,000 Hz. Legend” debuted at No. 88.

Overall, U.S. album sales are up 2.1% from last week to 10.67 million copies, up about 10% from the comparable week last year. Total sales for the year are beating those of 2003 by about 10.4%.

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