Record release dates rarely get as big as last Tuesday, especially these days. So with releases from several heavyweights including long-awaited comebacks from Eminem, Relapse (Aftermath/Interscope), and Busta Rhymes, Back on My B.S. (Universal Motown), as well as Method Man and Redman’s Blackout! 2 (Def Jam), the VIBE staff had its dollars pressed and ready to weigh in on which project would clock what first week sales for our MEGA BUCK SHOT. Would Eminem still have the pull he owned years back? Would Busta’s fans spend their Arab money on him? Is Lionel Richie still relevant? We put our gwap up to certify our big talk, and now that the numbers are out, it’s time to cut the cake.
In what comes as no shock, Eminem dusted the competition. Mr. Mathers comes in at the top slot on The Billboard 200 albums chart, with Relapse moving 608,000 units in its first week. Em’s sixth album put Method Man and Redman’s Blackout! 2—which came in at No. 4 on the charts—to shame, outselling that project by more than 500,000 albums. Surprisingly Busta Rhymes’ Back on My B.S. only cleared 59,000 albums. In other news, DJ Drama obviously picked the wrong day to drop his second compilation set, Gangsta Grillz: The Album Vol. 2 (Aphilliates/Grand Hustle/Atlantic), selling only 17,000 records, while R&B’s biggest new release, Lionel Richie’s Just Go (Island), cranked out an underwhelming 19,000 units.
So how did it all shake down in house? In the Relapse category, Lifestyle Editor Chris Yuscavage took the cake with a prediction of 603,000. For Blackout! 2, Deputy Managing Editor Angela Watford’s 61,000 guess secured her the pot. Articles Editor Jozen Cummings nailed DJ Drama’s sales with a 17,000 call. But the big winner was Associate Photo Editor Delia Desai, who took the Price Is Right approach, strategically picking each album to sell one copy, thereby staying in the hunt for every project by not going over the actual sales. With the rest of the staff assuming Busta and Richie would put up better numbers, Delia walked away with the bulk of Mega Buck Shot’s $58 pot.
Peep how the rest of the staff went wrong. Congrats to all the winners. Snacks are on you!
Editor-in-Chief DANYEL SMITH (DSW): 799,999
Senior Editor BENJAMIN MEADOWS-INGRAM (BMI): 630,000
Music Editor SEAN FENNESSEY (SF): 623,311
Deputy Managing Editor ANGELA WATFORD (AW): 510,000
Associate Senior Editor KEITH MURPHY (KM): 750,000
Lifestyle Editor CHRIS YUSCAVAGE (CY): 603,000
Reporter/Assistant Editor BRAD WETE (BW): 575,000
Editor-At-Large ROB KENNER (RK): 440,000
Associate Photo Editor DELIA DESAI (DD): 1
Research Chief KATIE PATTERSON (KP): 300,000
Articles Editor JOZEN CUMMINGS (JC): 555,000
Executive Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief/VIBE TV Reporter SHIREA L. CARROLL (SC): 500,000
METHOD MAN AND REDMAN, BLACKOUT! 2 (DEF JAM)
Editor-in-Chief DANYEL SMITH (DSW): 52,111
Senior Editor BENJAMIN MEADOWS-INGRAM (BMI): 106,000
Music Editor SEAN FENNESSEY (SF): 84,115
Deputy Managing Editor ANGELA WATFORD (AW): 61,000
Associate Senior Editor KEITH MURPHY (KM): 100,000
Lifestyle Editor CHRIS YUSCAVAGE (CY): 41,000
Reporter/Assistant Editor BRAD WETE (BW): 70,000
Editor-At-Large ROB KENNER (RK): 50,000
Associate Photo Editor DELIA DESAI (DD): 1
Research Chief KATIE PATTERSON (KP): 30,000
Articles Editor JOZEN CUMMINGS (JC): 82,000
Executive Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief/VIBE TV Reporter SHIREA L. CARROLL (SC): 80,000
BUSTA RHYMES, Back on My B.S. (UNIVERSAL MOTOWN)
Editor-in-Chief DANYEL SMITH (DSW): 102,623
Senior Editor BENJAMIN MEADOWS-INGRAM (BMI): 81,000
Music Editor SEAN FENNESSEY (SF): 63,241
Deputy Managing Editor ANGELA WATFORD (AW): 64,520
Associate Senior Editor KEITH MURPHY (KM): 111,000
Lifestyle Editor CHRIS YUSCAVAGE (CY): 84,000
Reporter/Assistant Editor BRAD WETE (BW): 110,000
Editor-At-Large ROB KENNER (RK): 60,000
Associate Photo Editor DELIA DESAI (DD): 1
Research Chief KATIE PATTERSON (KP): 150,000
Articles Editor JOZEN CUMMINGS (JC): 77,000
Executive Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief/VIBE TV Reporter SHIREA L.CARROLL (SC): 75,000
Editor-in-Chief DANYEL SMITH (DSW): 29,888
Senior Editor BENJAMIN MEADOWS-INGRAM (BMI): 26,000
Music Editor SEAN FENNESSEY (SF): 14,777
Deputy Managing Editor ANGELA WATFORD (AW): 35,500
Associate Senior Editor KEITH MURPHY (KM): 40,000
Lifestyle Editor CHRIS YUSCAVAGE (CY): 39,000
Reporter/Assistant Editor BRAD WETE (BW): 30,000
Editor-At-Large ROB KENNER (RK): 33,000
Associate Photo Editor DELIA DESAI (DD): 1
Research Chief KATIE PATTERSON (KP): 22,000
Articles Editor JOZEN CUMMINGS (JC): 17,000
Executive Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief/VIBE TV Reporter SHIREA L. CARROLL (SC): 25,684
LIONEL RICHIE, JUST GO (ISLAND)
Editor-in-Chief DANYEL SMITH (DSW): 68,000
Senior Editor BENJAMIN MEADOWS-INGRAM (BMI): 45,000
Music Editor SEAN FENNESSEY (SF): 38,159
Deputy Managing Editor ANGELA WATFORD (AW): 43,000
Associate Senior Editor KEITH MURPHY (KM): 90,000
Lifestyle Editor CHRIS YUSCAVAGE (CY): 52,000
Editor-At-Large ROB KENNER (RK): 26,000
Reporter/Assistant Editor BRAD WETE (BW): 30,000
Associate Photo Editor DELIA DESAI (DD): 1
Research Chief KATIE PATTERSON (KP): No action
Articles Editor JOZEN CUMMINGS (JC): 42,000
Executive Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief/VIBE TV Reporter SHIREA L. CARROLL (SC): No action
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