You see what they made me do? The releases are so slow right now that I had to go make a banner for The Numbers Game because I didn’t know who should be pictured (I mean, I could have threw Rihanna up there, but that would have been f*cked up.). I don’t know if the Grammy Awards “push” is in effect this week, but I really didn’t see much of a change (Damn, can I stop using “I” so much…). It’s good to see Jazmine Sullivan back in the Top 50 though. Not too much to talk about other that I just noticed that the Notorious soundtrack fell the completely out of the Top 100. Hey, you can always tell me how good the new banner looks.

#5 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #3) – 51,371; Total: 1,788,206 (Platinum) [13 Weeks]
#9 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #5) – 33,900; Total: 1,291,200 (Platinum) [10 Weeks]
#8 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #7) – 36,550; Total: 578,032 (Gold) [8 Weeks]
#10 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #8) – 33,593; Total: 666,127 (Gold) [8 Weeks]
#19 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #16) – 22,919; Total: 1,661,189 (Platinum) [19 Weeks]
#20 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #15) – 22,800; Total: 466,500 [9 Weeks]
#22 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #25) – 20,158; Total: 2,985,147 (2x Platinum) [35 Weeks]
#23 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Last Week: #29) – 19,600; Total: 876,400 (Gold) [21 Weeks]
#25 Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #23) – 18,400; Total: 2,346,500 (2x Platinum) [88 Weeks]
#34 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #42) – 13,900; Total: 255,300 [7 Weeks]
#40 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #46) – 13,100; Total: 526,900 (Gold) [15 Weeks]
#44 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #38) – 12,600; Total: 264,100 [8 Weeks]
#45 Jazmine Sullivan/Fearless (Last Week: #67) – 12,400; Total: 353,400 [20 Weeks]
#46 Mariah Carey/The Ballads (Last Week: #31) – 12,200; Total: 55,700 [3 Weeks]
#49 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #40) – 11,900; Total: 542,400 (Gold) [11 Weeks]

You know there must be a shortage of Hip-Hop releases when Beyonce gets the picture…twice. I’m not gonna really gonna go into about how there are no relevant Hip-Hop album coming out in the beginning of 2009; if you read any past Numbers Game columns this year you already know I said this a hundred times already. So yeah, check out the numbers and get back with me next week.

#3 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #2) – 51,531; Total: 1,736,835 (Platinum) [12 Weeks]
#5 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #4) – 39,234; Total: 1,257,336 (Platinum) [9 Weeks]
#7 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #8) – 31,601; Total: 541,482 (Gold) [7 Weeks]
#8 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #6) – 30,865; Total: 632,534 (Gold) [7 Weeks]
#15 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #17) – 21,769; Total: 443,736 [8 Weeks]
#16 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #18) – 20,600; Total: 1,638,300 (Platinum) [18 Weeks]
#24 various artists/Notorious [OST] (Last Week: #9) – 15,700; Total: 87,700 [3 Weeks]
#25 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #26) – 15,600; Total: 2,965,000 (2x Platinum) [34 Weeks]
#29 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Last Week: #29) – 14,800; Total: 856,900 (Gold) [20 Weeks]
#31 Mariah Carey/The Ballads (Last Week: #10) – 14,800; Total: 43,400 [2 Weeks]
#38 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #39) – 12,500; Total: 251,500 [7 Weeks]
#40 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #34) – 12,300; Total: 530,500 (Gold) [10 Weeks]
#42 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #42) – 11,929; Total: 241,441 [6 Weeks]
#46 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #41) – 11,200; Total: 513,800 (Gold) [14 Weeks]
#174 Katt Williams/It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’ (Last Week: NA) – 14,800; Total: NA [Debut]

We still here? I thought a Numbers Game this week wouldn’t see the light of day, but here we are. But hey, we’ll talk about that drama another time. Even though this January has been rough for the nappyafro crew, I can’t wait for this releases to start coming in. Think about it: Mariah Carey is the only R&B/Hip-Hop debut this week in the Top 50…and that’s a compilation. The reason I chose to put Kanye pic up instead of Mrs. Cannon is because Kanye West Martin Louie the King Jr. made waves this week  with the Louis Vuitton sneakers and such. As much as people hate on 808’s & Heartbreak, it still pushed over 1,000,000 units. Just saying…

#2 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #2) – 50,927; Total: 1,685,304 (Platinum) [11 Weeks]
#4 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #5) – 39,234; Total: 1,224,108 (Platinum) [8 Weeks]
#6 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #9) – 31,275; Total: 601,669 (Gold) [6 Weeks]
#8 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #8) – 30,270; Total: 509,881 (Gold) [6 Weeks]
#9 various artists/Notorious [OST] (Last Week: #4) – 28,989; Total: 72,024 [2 Weeks]
#10 Mariah Carey/The Ballads (Last Week: NA) – 28,700; Total: NA [Debut]
#17 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #12) – 21,500; Total: 421,900 [8 Weeks]
#18 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #17) – 20,900; Total: 1,617,700 (Platinum) [17 Weeks]
#26 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #23) – 15,900; Total: 2,949,400 (2x Platinum) [33 Weeks]
#29 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Last Week: #29) – 14,966; Total: 842,105 (Gold) [19 Weeks]
#34 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #25) – 14,100; Total: 518,200 (Gold) [9 Weeks]
#39 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #32) – 12,900; Total: 239,000 [6 Weeks]
#41 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #33) – 12,200; Total: 502,600 (Gold) [13 Weeks]
#42 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #41) – 12,104; Total: 229,512 [6 Weeks]

Okay, I got like 20 minutes to get this The Numbers Game up (I’ve never been late on one before). No debuts this week so there’s not a lot of difference from last week. I guess the only thing I can say about this week is that in a month or so, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Jamie Foxx, John Legend, & T-Pain will go Gold. It looks like January will be a slow month…

#2 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #5) – 89,607; Total: 1,535,791 (Platinum) [8 Weeks]
#3 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #5) – 70,932; Total: 1,094,859 (Platinum) [5 Weeks]
#7 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #7) – 53,627; Total: 502,218 [3 Weeks]
#8 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #9) – 44,638; Total: 414,506 [3 Weeks]
#13 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #15) – 32,200; Total: 1,554,300 (Platinum) [14 Weeks]
#11 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #16) – 77,632; Total: 350,254 [5 Weeks]
#14 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #31) – 31,300; Total: 470,400 [6 Weeks]
#19 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #31) – 25,992; Total: 2,900,412 (2x Platinum) [30 Weeks]
#20 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #36) – 24,747; Total: 192,128 [3 Weeks]
#21 Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #29) – 24,700; Total: 2,258,200 (2x Platinum) [83 Weeks]
#31 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Last Week: #40) – 21,100; Total: 796,600 (Gold) [16 Weeks]
#38 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #39) – 18,800; Total: 197,600 [3 Weeks]
#40 Common/Universal Mind Control (Last Week: #51) – 17,315; Total: 166,432 [4 Weeks]
#41 T-Pain/Thr33 Ringz (Last Week: #43) – 17,300; Total: 430,100 [8 Weeks]
#45 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #44) – 15,700; Total: 466,400 [10 Weeks]

Damn, it’s 2009 already? After almost doing this column 40 times now, it still feels like I just started this yesterday. What does ‘09 hold for Hip-Hop on the charts? We’ll see a new Eminem album, maybe Detox, hopefully Blueprint 3 as well as a host of other releases (January looks slack as hell by the way). But before we get to that, here’s the first edition of the Numbers Game for the new year.

I was thinking yesterday if Kanye’s 808’s & Heartbreak was really a failure. I mean, yeah he didn’t sell 800,000 albums in the first week like he previously did with Graduation, but who is? Five weeks since the release of Kanye’s 4th album and he’s already has sold a million copies. In today’s market when going Gold in the “new” Platinum, is this really a failure? Now compare that to Common’s new album. Where the hell is Universal Mind Control?

T.I. jumps up 19 places on the charts and sells almost 80,ooo copies of Paper Trail in it’s 13th week. It might take a while, but I seriously think T.I.P.’s 6th album will go double.

Like a young Jerry Rice in a 49ers jersey, Lil’ Wayne just can’t be stop. After almost a month on the charts, Weezy moves up some spots and sells over 50,000 copies of Tha Carter III. Sitting at 2,874,420 album sold, he may go over that 3 “Milli” mark next week. And who the hell is still buying the retail version of Dedication 3? It sold over 9,000 albums this week.

The goon Plies drops form #14 to #36 this week with his 3rd album Da REAList. Maybe he won’t be getting that 3rd consecutive Gold plaque after all.

This week could be looked as a sorta good thing for Soulja Boy. Yes, his new album iSouljaBoyTellem still sits a the bottom of the Top 50 at #47, but he only dropped 4 spots from last week. Most of the time if a rapper debuts at #43, he’s not in the Top 50 the next week. But it’s really hard for me to pull for the kid when he makes statements like; “Nas killed Hip-Hop”.

I’m not really going into the R&B numbers this week (You can still check out the numbers below). Don’t be mad if I might not put ALL the numbers up for ALL the Hip-Hop/R&B artists in the Top 50 (Do you really care about Akon’s numbers?). See you next week. Peace.

#2 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #5) – 210,918; Total: 1,458,853 (Platinum) [7 Weeks]
#5 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #11) – 148,157; Total: 1,023,927 (Platinum) [4 Weeks]
#7 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #2) – 126,506; Total: 448,591 [2 Weeks]
#9 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #3) – 104,506; Total: 369,868 [2 Weeks]
#15 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #34) – 78,319; Total: 1,522,103 (Platinum) [13 Weeks]
#16 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #31) [4 Weeks]
#29 Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #37)  (2x Platinum) [82 Weeks]
#31 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #39) [5 Weeks]
#32 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #49) – 57,813; Total: 2,874,420 (2x Platinum) [29 Weeks]
#36 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #14) – 52,707; Total: 167,381 [2 Weeks]
#39 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #12) [2 Weeks]
#40 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Gold) (Last Week: #61) [15 Weeks]
#43 T-Pain/Thr33 Ringz (Last Week: #55) [7 Weeks]
#44 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #59) [9 Weeks]
#47 Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em/iSouljaBoyTellem (Last Week: #43) – 34,370; Total: 79,935 [2 Weeks]
#163 DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne/Dedication 3 (Last Week: #185) – 9,496; Total: 17,780 [2 Weeks]

What? You thought I was gonna miss out on telling you how much Plies and Soulja Boy sold last week. Consider this a early X-Mas present; The Numbers Game is here a day early (Now in paragraph format!). A lot of artists benefited from the holiday shopping boost (while some didn’t). Well since H20’s iSouljaboytellem review last week had the comments jumping, we’ll start there: After all the debate on Soulja Boy, the kid’s sophomore album performance on the charts was underwhelming with only 45,000 copies sold and a #43 debut on the charts. Hey, I think SB’s hustle was good, but this might be the beginning of the end.

One person who won’t stop (releasing albums that is) is Plies. Even though homie gets a lot of hate, somebody out there loves him. His third album in 2 years, Da REAList, pushes over a 100,000 copies. I guess that means we can expect more albums from Plies (And more goon references).

Did anybody else know that DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne was releasing a retail version of Dedication 3? Well they released it last week  and over 8,000 people knew about it and purchased it. Other than the actual mixtape not really being that good; Why would anyone buy a mixtape by an artist who is officially giving it away for free online? The Weezy fans are dedicated…

On the R&B front, all the debuts in the Top 50 all sold at least 100,000 albums. Keyshia Cole’s A Different Me gave her the #2 spot with over 300,000 copies sold (Country powerhouse Taylor Swift only beat her by 6,000 copies for #1 spot). Hey, I guess this shows that Keyshia has some real fans out there. Jamie Foxx’s second album, Intuiton (It’s officially his third), also did pretty good coming right behind Keyshia Cole at #3. It’s funny because Thic Saule actually recommended Foxx’s new album to me in the forums and I brushed him off (Saule: 1, B-Easy: 0). Just to prove that this was a good week for R&B, Anthony Hamilton’s new album, The Point Of It All, debuted at #12 and sold 130,000 copies. I like Anthony Hamilton, but I had no idea that he had an album coming out. None.

That’s all I really got for today; Here’s the half assed numbers. Shit, it’s the holidays. Peace.

#2 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: NA) – 322,085; Total: NA [Debut]
#3 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: NA) – 265,362; Total: NA [Debut]
#5 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #6) – 195,392; Total: 1,247,935 (Platinum) [6 Weeks]
#11 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #4) – 138,910; Total: 858,810 (Gold) [3 Weeks]
#12 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: NA) – 133,556; Total: NA [Debut]
#14 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: NA) – 114,674; Total: NA [Debut]
#43 Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em/iSouljaBoyTellem (Last Week: NA) – 45,565; Total: NA [Debut]
#49 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter 3 (Last Week: #47) – 37,822; Total: 2,816,607 (2x Platinum) [28 Weeks]
#185 DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne/Dedication 3 (Last Week: NA) – 8,284; Total: NA [Debut]

Not being a huge fan of the group Nappy Roots, I haven’t really been to big on them since their debut album Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz released in 2002, which featured the hit singles “Awnaw” and “Po’ Folks”. This is their third studio album since their 2003 release Wooden Leather, but in a five-year gap does this album still capture that Southern appeal and Down South flavor that Nappy Roots have been known for in the past?

Intro
Right from the start you already begin to feel that Southern atmosphere with the knocking beat in the background as the term “Humdinger” is explained. That is before the definition is interrupted by Lil’ Yuk who adds some humor to this intro track with his unusual voice. This track wasn’t really needed, but it helped to set the mood for the album and gets you anticipated for the music to come from the Nappy Roots.

Beads & Braids
Produced by Sol Messiah
DAMN! That’s what immediately came to mind upon listening to this track as the first song on the album. The beat is smooth as hell and carries an OutKast vibe that was heard on their ATLiens and Aquemini albums. The Nappy Roots go for theirs on this track as they speak about how they aren’t going anywhere as a group and their unit is stronger than ever. This is a great way to start off the album and hopefully it can continue in this fashion.

On My Way To GA
Produced by Sol Messiah
On this track Sol Messiah provides the group with yet another Southern soulful beat that is very fitting as the Nappy Roots rap about going back to Georgia and all of the things that they remember about the peach state. This track follows nicely from the previous one in keeping the same mood about it for listeners.

Pole Position
Featuring Slick & Rose; Produced by Vision
This next track features an up-tempo beat produced by Vision that fits well with the Nappy Roots and their guest Slick & Rose. Interestingly enough with a title like “Pole Position”, this track is about the strip club and the strippers on the ‘poles’ (now you get it?). This is an average track from the production to the lyrics and it works well enough for what it is.

Flex
Produced by Willy Will
Producer Willy Will comes with some interesting production on this track that sounds like it could have been used for David Banner’s song “Play” or another workout jam. On that note that is exactly what this track is and the Nappy Roots pull it off in good fashion. This is a song that I could see being a single from this album that would good well with the commercial audience. This song is kind of a reach for them but luckily they don’t reach too far and it works.

Swerve & Lean
Produced by Sol Messiah
After that previous commercial attempt, the Nappy Roots takes it back down South with this track produced by Sol Messiah who has been coming with some great beats on this album. His production seems to fit just right with the Nappy Roots and the whole Southern atmosphere that isn’t on that “DSBS” (“Down South Bullshit”…Props to my school instructor Sam Stith for that lingo). The group is able to drop some nice rhymes on this track to match the good production that is provided.

Good Day
Featuring Gregg Street; Produced by Big Al
This track produced by Big Al features production similar to that heard on Snoop Dogg’s “Deez Hollywood Nights” on his Ego Trippin’ album and it works well on this track. This feel good song from the group talks about how it’s gonna be a good day without violence and everybody’s gonna be looking fly. This song works well for a group like the Nappy Roots as it’s in the same vein of their song “Po’ Folks”. This was a good pick for a single off the album.

Down ‘N’ Out
Featuring Anthony Hamilton; Produced by Kevin ‘Big Block’ Freeman
This track, which is another single from the album, has a great feel to it that is perfectly complemented by the guest appearance from Anthony Hamilton. I know that I said the previous track was in the same vein of “Po’ Folks”, but this one has even more of that song’s vibe. This song could have been called “Po’ Folks II” because you get the same emotions and feelings from this song as you did with the original hit single. The Nappy Roots really make this a great song and it’s exactly what is expected from them. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album so far.

Tinted Up
Featuring James “Groove” Chambers; Produced by James “Groove” Chambers
Coming right after the excellent track “Down ‘N’ Out”, this track feels somewhat mediocre particularly because of its production. The production on this track is a bit lacking and it doesn’t really add much to the track. The lyrics presented by the group aren’t too much better as they sound typical in the theme and topic along with the slowed down vocals (which are starting to get overused). This track is average and really feels out of place coming after such a great track.

Fresh
Produced by Track Kingz
No, no, no…I thought this wasn’t going to happen anymore on this album but I guess that was just wishful thinking. This track is straight DSBS and fit into the typical model of tracks that people so often criticize the South about. From the production by the Track Kingz to the lyrics from the Nappy Roots, this track is missing the mark by miles. This will be a track that is suited to definitely get the party krunk and the club moving (but that’s all). This track isn’t doing it for me at all and could have been without on this album.

Kalifornia Dreamin’
Featuring Slick & Rose; Produced by Sol Messiah
Once again Sol Messiah hits us with a Southern banger and keeps his consistency going in terms of production on this album. They could have had Sol Messiah produce every track on this album and it would have been an excellent product for the Nappy Roots. They seem to fit very well on his productions and the connection is definitely there. On this track the group talks about their dreams and aspirations, and having that motivation to succeed when everything else is going bad.

Who Got It??
Produced by Joe Hop
The production provided on this track by Joe Hop have a vibe that sounds more suitable for West Coast artists like Snoop Dogg or Tha Dogg Pound. Ha, I was just expecting to hear E-40’s voice on this track, which would have been a good fit if that were the case. The Nappy Roots spit some decent rhymes that keep up with the production but they just don’t sound like a fit on this song. This is another song that could have been done without on this album.

No Static
Featuring Greg Nice; Produced by Sol Messiah
Let’s get back to that good Southern Hip-Hop that we’ve heard from the collaboration of the Nappy Roots and the Sol Messiah. That’s exactly what we have on this track produced by Sol Messiah (remember what I said about this producer), which features Hip-Hop legend Greg Nice. It’s always nice to hear a legend like Greg Nice on a track nowadays. This is a nice track from the group after that misstep on the previous track.

Don’t Stop
Featuring James “Groove” Chambers; Produced by James “Groove” Chambers
This track features some nice laid-back production from James “Groove” Chambers who is also a featured guest on the song. The rhymes from the group fit well with the production provided as they talk about keeping it moving and not stopping for anything in the way.

Panic Room
The fast tempo production featured on this track definitely fit the title of the song, but is mediocre at best. I’m not sure if this will be a track considered for a single on this album, but it certainly has that feel to it. The rhymes on this song are suitable, but overall this is a passable track for me. The idea of the track was good, but the execution is failed as an end result.

Small Town
Produced by Count Justice
This track features some minimal production provided by Count Justice that fits well with the song’s topic and theme about going back to the small towns from which they came. The rhymes on this song speak about just that in the group talking about small town living and how they want to go back to that type of environment. This is a good selection for the final track on this album as it fits the mood that was set early on in this album.

Bottom Line:
In reaching the end of this album, we have heard both hits and misses from the Nappy Roots on this project. Most of the hit tracks on this album were those that carried that recognizable Southern vibe and appeal (“Beads & Braids”, “Good Day”, “Down ‘N’ Out”) while most of the miss tracks were those where the group was trying to appeal to an outside audience and garner more fans. Those tracks weren’t needed on an album like this and they completely threw off the mood that was set from the project’s beginning. When the Nappy Roots connect with a producer like Sol Messiah it’s solid gold and a home run. I believe that the group would have had a classic album on their hands if they had kept that real Southern Hip-Hop vibe throughout the entire album and not been swayed to appeal to a commercial/mainstream audience. Overall though this is a good album from the Nappy Roots who have showed that a five-year absence doesn’t stop them from making great music.

nappyPicks: “Down ‘N’ Out”, “Beads & Braids”, “Good Day”, & “Kalifornia Dreamin’”

Download: Nappy Roots – “Beads & Braids”