ALBUM SALES: In a day and age where albums are selling a mere fraction of what they were a decade ago, Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday managed to sell a remarkable 375,000 copies in its first week of release. Despite being released the same day as proven star and multi-platinum seller Kanye West (who had a 496k showing in his debut week), she still secured the second highest opening week sales ever for a female rapper, behind Lauryn Hill and her Grammy-winning 1998 release, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. It was also the first time in two years that the Billboard 200 saw two albums bow out with more than 300k units sold. Even more impressive, Nicki is currently outpacing West in weekly sales and recently broke the one million mark making her the first female rapper to have a No. 1 album in the U.S. since Eve's Let There Be Eve… Ruff Ryders First Lady back in 1999. More than anything, Nicki's numbers show that she can influence other brands while still maintaining her own as a viable commodity.
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