Billboard: Lil Wayne Cracks 1 Million With 'Tha Carter III'

[God]

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003817568

June 17, 2008, 7:30 PM ET
Geoff Mayfield, L.A.
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 tomorrow morning (June 18) 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.

 

[classic]

good for him atleast this show the companys hip hop can still sell

 

[bigdmakintrax]

I got it, just to listen, this is not a Classic by any means or stretch of the imagination and if anything it is a run of the mill project, if not for the beats he lacks a lot of depth and skill, he coming up short on lyrics to do these tracks complete justice, what a shame, just a few weak lines i picked up on "shopping cart full of fake hip hop artists" lil Wayne speaking of fake artist LOL, "They don't make em like me no mo" what????, I'm rare like Mr. Clean Hair....I mean how can someone even begin to speak of little Wayne in the Same sentence with the likes of Biggie, Nas, J or Pac? HOW??? he has a loooong way to go lyrically to even get on their level.

 

[Fury]

I got it, just to listen, this is not a Classic by any means or stretch of the imagination and if anything it is a run of the mill project, if not for the beats he lacks a lot of depth and skill, he coming up short on lyrics to do these tracks complete justice, what a shame, just a few weak lines i picked up on "shopping cart full of fake hip hop artists" lil Wayne speaking of fake artist LOL, "They don't make em like me no mo" what????, I'm rare like Mr. Clean Hair....I mean how can someone even begin to speak of little Wayne in the Same sentence with the likes of Biggie, Nas, J or Pac? HOW??? he has a loooong way to go lyrically to even get on their level.

dont say that u mite have a bunch of ppl here start acting mad that u think hes garbage like alot of us do..DONT CONFUSE HATE WIT THE TRUTH PPL..Wayne is just a corny dude....i mean he calls himself the Lollipop rapper..are u fuckin kidding me a lollipop rapper hahaa???...u knoe the game is so twisted when thats actually considered cool...

 

[afriquedeluxe]

wow 1 million? That's quite a success in these times. I still haven't given the album a full listen. However, I wonder which of the two gave it the most boost, the quality or the heavy promotion and marketing.

 

[Lazy Eyes]

What's funny is that on Mr Carter feat Jay Z he has this line bout when people talk bout the greats: Jay-Z, Pac and Biggie, don't forget weezy...

Jay spits his verse, names all the greats and lets out Weezy, just thought that was great.. haha..
Btw, Jay is killin em on that track.. He's like Gimme that!!!

 

[Relic]

lol, I love wayne because I love listenin to my 15 year old daughter argue withj me about how wayne really DOES have depth and that he really IS lyrical So I come back with anything KRS has done and we end up having really good conversations about hiphop in general. The generational thing is funny though.

 

[God]

lol, I love wayne because I love listenin to my 15 year old daughter argue withj me about how wayne really DOES have depth and that he really IS lyrical So I come back with anything KRS has done and we end up having really good conversations about hiphop in general. The generational thing is funny though.

Understanding that there IS a generational gap is the wedge that marketers use to push something like Weezy. That's why Wayne can sell 1 million, because kids are too young to know better stuff, and they also want something in their generation that's their "own". It happens in every generational cycle.

As soon as you cross the threshold of 24 years of age, you ain't even in the target demographic anymore.

 

[Relic]

Understanding that there IS a generational gap is the wedge that marketers use to push something like Weezy. That's why Wayne can sell 1 million, because kids are too young to know better stuff, and they also want something in their generation that's their "own". It happens in every generational cycle.

As soon as you cross the threshold of 24 years of age, you ain't even in the target demographic anymore.

lol, word..
Lemme ask you this tho, is there not a market for 24+ in hiphop?
If not SHOULDNT there be? I mean we got all the disposable income.
THATS the market I want to tap.

 

[2nd_Man]

i feel ya there relic, that demographic has the money, wants to buy CDs and not d/l and i wouldnt have thought needed alot of advertisin targetted at them.

 

[Relic]

Absolutely right, sadly there are lots of people that are gen xer's who dont know about computer stuff and you can def hit them off with cd's.
Although lots are savy as well but I think its the market that I want..Prolly because Im old like them. lol

 

[God]

lol, word..
Lemme ask you this tho, is there not a market for 24+ in hiphop?
If not SHOULDNT there be? I mean we got all the disposable income.
THATS the market I want to tap.

AC format for rap
You're talking about an AC format for rap. It's already used to some extent, and in some markets, "old school" radio stations are playing a kind of "classic rock" (classic rap) format for rap music. It's not a new idea, but it's gaining ground (because hip-hop fans are getting older). Once the hip-hop generation gets older, like people that were teens in the nineties reach their forties, then you'll see a shift. Economic viability is not there yet but smart companies, like ClearChannel, have already positioned themselves for market leaders.

AC (Adult Contemporary) or in rock it's AAR (adult alternative rock) are outlets for "has-been" bands and acts to keep their career viable. For example, Matchbox 20 is still relevant in an AAR format, but not in a true modern rock format (which is geared towards a youth demo.)

The common thread of most bands being played in AAR or AC formats are that they broke through first to the youth demographic of their generation. Therefore, they have a fanbase that gets "older" with them and buys the music of the bands they grew to love in their teens.

Rap and AC formats
It's harder to break through as a "new" artist into the AAR or AC format - especially if you're a rapper. In rock, you have to have some crossover potential, like Colbie Caillat, who is a pop artist, but also played extensively in AAR format - though she's not played on stations with a modern rock tilt (generally speaking.) She had tremendous success because she can be both pop and AAR or AC. But again - the "pop" demo allows the inclusion of the 18-24 demo in some fashion.

With rap, Timbaland is the only one I see that proved he can cross formats consistently. Another would be will.i.am - they have a following across AC, Top 40, urban, dance, etc. But in their case, they are still relevant to the 18-24 demographic, so they don't exclude that demo. That's why Tim's so big. Unfortunately, if you're a true hiphophead, that's not your cup of tea, because that means you have to make really commercial music in order to appeal to an older audience.

Where you come in as a consumer
Where your money comes in is that you will probably go see an N.W.A. reunion concert when you're 50, or a Public Enemy reunion tour. Maybe you'll go and see a "Best of Bad Boy Records" when you're old. Even Wu-Tang will be a great act for the old folks. The touring companies know this.

Remember, the key is not necessarily how OLD you are, but how old your target demographic THINKS you are. Shit - Akon didn't make it until his early thirties. But he doesn't look old and he certainly doesn't act old. Same with 50 Cent.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

What's funny is that on Mr Carter feat Jay Z he has this line bout when people talk bout the greats: Jay-Z, Pac and Biggie, don't forget weezy...

Jay spits his verse, names all the greats and lets out Weezy, just thought that was great.. haha..
Btw, Jay is killin em on that track.. He's like Gimme that!!!

Yeah when I heard that cut it sounded sorta like Jay morphing from Lil Wayne Style or mocking him slightly I tried to make that out myself, but he paid J a nice cut for that half or quarter LOl.

 

[2nd_Man]

In a way Ive had a bit of a rethink about this. just going back, trying to seperate the business form the music (i know i know, but.....), and hip-hop is about bein creative and new, and this generally means young. if your bein creative your not about to target the 30s and 40s demographic.
idk, its a weird situation, hip-hop has never had to deal with this, were this is common place outisde hiphop. its weird to have "older generations" likin the youth music, but i dont think hip-hop can do music for the older generations, by nature its set for the youth. i can see the reuniions and comebacks and all that, but..
idk, hard topic