Lil’ Wayne’s “Tha Carter IV” has sold 964,000 in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan, easily enabling its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart. It is his third No. 1 album following “Tha Carter III” and “I Am Not a Human Being.”
“Carter IV” earns the biggest sales week for a hip-hop album (or any set by a male artist) since his own “Carter III” bowed with 1.01 million on the June 28, 2008 chart.
“Carter IV” also marks 2011’s second-biggest frame, behind Lady Gaga’s 1.11 million debut with “Born This Way,” which had bolstered sales because of a two-day sale where fans could purchase her album for 99 cents.
Information from Billboard.com contributed to this report.
