Hip hop fans need to remember this phrase, “slow and steady wins the race.” Over the past couple of years, hip hop has become increasingly obsessed with the first week sales of albums. A lot of hype came into the June 18 album releases and Kanye West was expected to sell 500,000 in his first week.
Ultimately, Kanye West sold a little over 300,000 copies in his first week. J. Cole pushed his album up to avoid being overlooked and he sold a little under 300,000 copies in his first week. The following week, J. Cole finished third, narrowly behind fellow Roc Nation members, Wale and Kanye West.
Three weeks later, J. Cole has taken the top spot and has moved ahead of all the competition. Moving 55,000 copies in his third week of sales, J. Cole has topped the charts. Now, J. Cole is followed by Wale and Kanye West, who has dropped to number three on the charts.
