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Neptunes land compilation at No. 1
LOS ANGELES, California (Billboard) -- The first release from the Neptunes' Arista-affiliated label Star Trak is also its first to top the Billboard 200 album chart. "Star Trak Presents ... Clones" sold 249,000 copies across the U.S. in the week ended August 24, according to Nielsen SoundScan issued Wednesday, and leads seven albums into the top-20. The album, which also lands at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, boasts an all-star cast of Dirt McGirt (formerly Ol' Dirty Bastard), Clipse, Foxy Brown and Busta Rhymes, among others, and features the top-10 single "Frontin"' from the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z. "Clones" replaces last week's chart topper, Alan Jackson's "Greatest Hits Vol. II" (Arista Nashville), which falls to No. 2. Sales of that set were down 51 percent to 158,000 copies, bringing the album's two-week total to 486,000 units. Despite the tumble on the big chart, Jackson's collection leads Billboard's Top Country Albums roundup for the second-straight week. Bow Wow's third album, "Unleashed" (Sony), his first without the "Lil" prefix, gives the teenage rapper his highest debut on the Billboard 200. "Unleashed" enters at No. 3 on the strength of 120,000 copies. His 2002 effort, "Doggy Bag," debuted at No. 11 and has sold 1.1 million copes to date. The new single "Let's Get Down" featuring Baby is in the top 30 of the Hot 100 chart. Southern rapper T.I. earns his best week on the Billboard 200 with his sophomore effort, "Trap Muzik" (Grand Hustle/Atlantic). The album bows at No. 4 with sales of 109,000 copies. That nearly matches the to-date total of his 2001 effort "I'm Serious," which peaked at No. 98 and has sold 163,000 units. The Bad Boy/Universal soundtrack to "Bad Boys II" is pushed two places lower at No. 5 with the new arrivals. Sales were down 12 percent to 94,000 copies in the album's sixth week on the chart, its first to fall below the 100,000 mark. Benefiting from the Oscar-winning film's release on DVD, Epic's "Chicago" soundtrack bolts to No. 6 from No. 99 in its 32nd week. Most major retailers positioned the CD and the DVD together in stores, with Best Buy even selling the disc for a substantial discount to customers who bought the film. The soundtrack previously peaked at No. 2 and sold 1.6 million copies overall. Evanescence's "Fallen" (Wind-Up) slips 4-7 in its 25th week on the chart, with a sales dip of just 2 percent to 74,000 copies. Since its debut in March, the set has sold more than 2 million copies. The debut effort from Cam'ron protege Juelz Santana, "From Me to You" (Roc-A-Fella), bows at No. 8 with 74,000 copies. The rapper made his mainstream debut last summer on Cam'ron's hit "Oh Boy," which peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100. Beyonce Knowles' Columbia solo effort "Dangerously in Love" slips 5-9 in its ninth-week on the chart. Sales were down 4 percent to 68,000 units. The third album from Jessica Simpson, "In This Skin" (Columbia), enters at No. 10. Her 2001 album, "Irresistible," peaked at No. 6 and has sold 631,000 copies to date. Veteran punk act Rancid's "Indestructible" enters the Billboard 200 at No. 15 with sales of 51,000 copies. A major boost thanks to a distribution deal with Warner Bros. gives the band its career-best week on the chart. Rancid has previously not been higher than No. 35, a peak reached by "Life Won't Wait" in 1998. Also reaching a career peak is country artist Sara Evans, as her new RCA set, "Restless," arrives at No. 20 on sales of 44,000 copies. Her 2000 release "Born To Fly" peaked at No. 55 and has sold 1.35 million to date. Other notable entries include Alien Ant Farm's sophomore DreamWorks album "truANT" (No. 42, 27,000 copies) and Adema's third Arista set "Unstable" (No. 43, 26,500 copies). Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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