J. Cole, Wale, Kanye & Mac Miller Make Chart History

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(J. Cole on Born Sinner's success)

By Brenna Ehrlich

J. Cole, Wale, Kanye West and Mac Miller have a lot to celebrate, having all released chart-topping records this summer. Friday (July 12), however, they can pop some bottles and clap each other on the backs, as their combined success has made history. Yup, this week marks the first time in the Billboard 200 chart history that rap albums have scored the top three spots for three successive weeks.

Billboard reports that J. Cole's Born Sinner came in at number one this week, closely followed by Wale's The Gifted and Kanye West's Yeezus. Cole climbed up a notch this week with his record, which dropped on June 18. The previous week he came in at number 2, with Wale holding down number 1 and West at number 3.

West was riding high the week before that at number 1, and Mac Miller was hanging in there at number three with Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Cole sat pretty at number 2.

This is the first time three rap albums have nabbed multiple top spots for consecutive weeks since 2002, when Nelly, Eminem, Nas and the compilation Irv Gotti Presents The Inc ruled the charts for two weeks in a row, respectively. Prior to that, in 1998, Jay-Z, OutKast, A Tribe Called Quest and Lauryn Hill pulled off the same feat.

Jay-Z, whose Magna Carta... Holy Grail dropped this week, could help make history again next week judging by the projected sales of his new record, which is expected to hit number one in the coming days.

If Jay were to grab the top spot, not only would all top four spots be filled by Roc nation signed, managed or affiliated artists, it will also be the first time that four different rap records have consecutively hit number one on their first week. It will also be Jay-Z's 13th number-one record -- an honor that will continue to cement his record for the most number-one slots among solo artists.

Billboard previously stated that they would not be counting the million copies of Magna Carta... Holy Grail sold to Samsung prior to the album's official release. Five days before the album dropped, fans were able to download the disc via a specialized Samsung app. Still, Magna Carta is predicted to sell 475,000 to 500,000 copies by the end of next week, so it's looks as though that drawback won't have that much of an effect on Jay's rise to the top.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2013/07/12/j-cole-wale-kanye-mac-miller-make-chart-history/]View the full article[/url]