This Week in Sales: Nicki Minaj Outlasts Them All

In case you haven't noticed, no one puts out an album in January. Motherf**king no one. (Other than apparently Talib Kweli's "Gutter Rainbows", which is pretty good by the way.) That means those currently with a top ten album dropped it before the holidays and has simply outlasted everyone else. And so who's got the most staying power in hip-hop? I know a lot of you probably don't want to hear this, but Nicki Minaj. While Kanye's "MBDTF" has slowly but steadily dropped to the number 16 spot, "Pink Friday" is the highest selling rap album out right now, holding down the number 9 spot. And despite coming out a couple weeks later, "Pink Friday" has almost surpassed "MBDTF" in total sales (Nicki's 950,000 vs. Kanye's 960,000). Sorry folks, but Nicki's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Top Digital Urban Song Sales (w/ units sold)

1. Bruno Mars - Grenade (203,886)
2. Wiz Khalifa - Black & Yellow (200,895)
3 (7th overall). Pitbull ft. T-Pain - Hey Baby (140,613)
4 (8th overall). Diddy Money - Coming Home (139,947)
5 (10th overall). Black Eyed Peas - Time (Dirty Bit) (137,438)
6 (11th overall). Lil Wayne ft. Cory Gunz - 6 Foot 7 Foot (119, 991)
7 (12th overall). Cee-Lo Green - Fuck You (118,570)
8 (13th overall). Waka Flocka ft. Roscoe Dash - No Hands (102,291)
9 (14th overall). Far East Movement - Rocketeer (99,673)
10 (15th overall). Rihanna - What's My Name? (93,253

The Refined Take:

1) Well I'll be damned - Wiz Khalifa is one some legit superstar type shit. That number two for "Black & Yellow" isn't a number two rap song, it's the second most popular song in the country, period. With that much money he's probably buying weed by the bale. That also means the pressure's mounting to follow-up with another hit single, which hopefully won't sound like "Big Screen". Allright Wiz, what you got next?

2) Really? That many people liked "Coming Home"? Really? This is like when I hear that "Two and a Half Men" is the most popular tv show in the country, but I literally don't know a single person who watches it.

3) Well look who slipped into the top 50 - Kanye and Jay-Z' "H.A.M." is at number 35. For a song that has no appeal outside rap, and even limited reach within the rap community, that's not bad. If "Watch the Throne" is actually a good album, they could do some serious damage on the charts.

4) Total side note, but Coolio's "Gangsta Paradise" is making a random resurgence. It's currently at number 113, which puts it ahead of T.I. and Eminem's "All She Wrote" and Kanye and Kudi's "Erase Me". Damn Coolio - it's a shame you've completely lost your mind or you might be able to make a comeback.

5) This week's Mr. Irrelevant Award, given to the song that sits at the absolute bottom of the charts (the number 200 spot), goes to..Soulja Boys' "Speakers Going Hammer". I don't want to say I'm rejoicing in Mr. Boy's downfall, but I'm not not rejoicing.