Eminem’s ‘Marshall Mathers LP 2′ Album Cover
Rapper Eminem, who is known by many as one of the greatest of our time, is set to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart next week with his eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 , which was released yesterday, November 5, 2013.
According to industry sources, the album is expected to push between 700,000 to 750,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, November 10th.
This will give Shady the second-biggest sales week of the year behind Justin Timberlake ‘s The 20/20 Experience , which debuted with 968,000.
Currently, the year’s second-biggest week is owned by Drake ‘s Nothing Was the Same , which entered at #1 with 658,000 copies.
While the Marshall Mathers LP 2 has only been on sale for a day, sources can project its first week sales based on a number of indicators.
They include orders from retailers and early sales at digital retail, first-week performance of comparable albums, media exposure, radio and YouTube trends for the album’s singles, and so on.
But due to the forecast being just that, the official numbers could be different when the official list is compiled on next Wednesday.
Watch: Eminem Performing “Rap God” at the YouTube Music Awards
The rapper’s last set, 2010′s Recovery , debuted at #1 with sales of 741,000 copies in it’s first week, while the album preceding it, 2009′s Relapse , entered the chart at #1 with 608,000 copies.
Eminem is currently tied with rappers Kanye West and Nas for the second most #1 albums among hip-hop acts with six each.
With the new album reaching the feat, Eminem will have seven, which will move Nas and Yeezy to the #3 spot. If you’re wondering who holds the #1 spot, it’s Jay-Z with 13 #1 albums.
Since 2008, only three hip-hop albums have sold more than 700,000 in a week: Lil Wayne ‘s Tha Carter III in 2008 with 1.01 million its first week, Recovery and Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV in 2011 with 964,000 in its debut.
