PopularLemonade

I’m all about lists this week for some reason… Perhaps there’s something in the air, perhaps I’m just a freak about lists.  Regardless, here are the top 10 best selling hip hop/rap albums of all time… it’s interesting to me that none of them are from recent past – the internet has killed the album selling business.  Statistics are from US data only, in case you’re really that anal retentive about hip hop album sales.

10. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse, 1998) – 8M copies sold
Ahhh… Lauryn Hill.  A five-time Grammy winner, The Miseducation of Lauren Hill achieved Diamond status from the RIAA.  I still rock this album on the regular.  ‘Nothing Even Matters,’ which features D’Angelo, is one of my favorite duets in recent history. Lauryn Hill is probably THE best thing to come out of New Jersey, in my opinion… I’m still waiting for a comeback… as long as she’s not on some crazy cat lady shit again.

9. Will Smith – Big Willie Style (Columbia, 1997) – 9M copies sold
Will Smith’s very first solo venture without Dj Jazzy Jeff had a shitload of radio and club hits – probably the only album on this list that I don’t own.  Sorry, Will.  I just can’t look at you right without Jeff.

8. 2Pac – Greatest Hits (Death Row, 1998) – 9M copies sold
7. 2Pac – All Eyez On Me (Death Row, 1996) – 9M copies sold
Quite frankly, I think Tupac is one of the most overrated rappers of all time.  Sure, he made a huge impact on hip hop culture and west coast music as it stands – that’s not debatable, and I can understand why people would like him.  I’m just not so sure I do.  My favorite Tupac song is easily “I Get Around,” which is probably one of the least liked songs by die-hard Tupac fans.

6. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill (Def Jam, 1986) – 9M copies
The Beastie Boys showed the entire world that it was alright to be a funky white Jewish dude.  My crush on Beastie Boy Mike D lasted for a long ass time, and Mixmaster Mike is probably one of the illest djs around.  Did you know that the original name for this album was ‘Don’t Be a Faggot,’ but luckily hip hop’s eighties big brother, Russell Simmons nixed that shit in the bud.

5. Eminem – The Eminem Show (Aftermath, 2002) – 10M copies sold
4. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (AftermathInterscope 2000) – 10M copies sold
My sheer contempt for Eminem keeps growing, but I will say this – The Marshall Mathers LP has a special place in hip hop history.  Like the Beastie Boys holding down the #6 spot, Eminem proved to the world that hip hop can exceed racial lines… but good lord if he didn’t create some of the most obnoxious and offense mainstream music ever.

3. The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death – (Bad Boy, 1997) – 10M copies sold
I think maybe, just maybe, my brain is stuck in the east coast vs. west coast battle in the early to mid-nineties, which would explain my glittery love for Biggie and my lackluster love for Tupac.  I’m still a ’Ready to Die’ aficionado, but ‘Ten Crack Commandments’ is one of my favorite songs of all time.  I’m pretty sure this album would be at #2 if it wasn’t for Diddy’s crazy ass.

2. MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em (Capitol, 1990) – 10M copies sold
When I was a little whippersnapper, I remember buying my first two cassette tapes – one being Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.  MC Hammer is the epitome of an entertainer, from his sweet ass choreography to his unwavering fashion sense (I mean, who else has pants NAMED after them?). Besides, MC Hammer shed some light to what would become a phenomenon in hip hop by sampling artists such as Marvin Gaye, Prince, Rick James, Jackson 5, The Chi-Lites.

1. OutKast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (LaFace, 2003) – 11M copies sold
This blew me away… I never would have thought in a million years that Andre 3000 & Big Boi would have held down the number one spot on this list with their dual disc Speakerboxxx/The Love Below joint.  I loved the concept – each took their own disc and expressed their own artistic ventures laced with appearances from each other, as well as other artists including Rosario Dawson, Jay-z, Kelis, Goodie Mobb, and Killer Mike.