Rapper Wale knocks Kanye West from atop Billboard album chart
American rapper Wale
grabbed the top spot on Wednesday on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart
for the first time with his record "The Gifted," while fellow rapper
Kanye West's "Yeezus," last week's No. 1, fell to third place.
"The Gifted" sold 158,000 copies in its first week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Wale's previous album, 2011's
"Ambition," sold 164,000 copies in its first week but only reached No. 2
on the weekly album chart.
West's "Yeezus" fell to No. 3 with
65,000 in sales during the week, an 80 percent decline from its debut
total of 327,000 albums sold last week.
Rapper J. Cole's album "Born Sinner" was
No. 2 on the chart for the second consecutive week. Christian rock band
Skillet's "Rise" placed fourth while French electronic duo Daft Punk's
"Random Access Memories" rose one spot to No. 5.
Other top 10 new albums this week
include U.S. singer-songwriter India.Arie's "Songversation" at No. 7 and
metal group August Burns Red's "Rescue & Restore" at No. 9.
Albums sales for the week totaled 5
million, a 13 percent decrease from the same period last year. Albums
sales so far in 2013 have totaled 142 million, a 6 percent decline over
the same time last year.
