Chicago emcee Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers debuted at number one on the Billboad 200 chart this week. Nielsen SoundScan reports that it sold 204,000 copies in its first seven days.
It’s a huge triumph for Lupe, after months of delay that prompted fans to protest outside the New York City offices of his label, Atlantic Records, to demand its release back in October.
It’s Lupe’s best debut to date. His first album, 2006’s Food and Liquor, hit the chart at number eight and moved 81,000 copies the first week, while his sophomore effort, The Cool, sold 143,000 units for a 15th place bow.
If his tweets are any indication, Lupe is excited about the news; his feed has been buzzing all day with thank yous for his die hard fans. Rap Radar compiled them into one verse:
“every year we do better, steady on the rise, the tears for lost ones weigh heavy on the eyes, dita sunny’s, gold prezzy, twin turbo chevy fo’ a ride of course, from the backseats of phantoms i thought of leaving thru suicide doors, love got me thru it, best fans ever made the whole world care, had 51st & 6th looking like Tahrir Square! apologize for dumbing it, but look what has become of it, “All Black Everything” some old white southern woman humming it, Took Gaza Strip’s Politics and put them number one and shit, took the myth that concious dont equal commercial and mothafuckin pummeled it! weapons for the weak, lessons for the meek, the too proud to beg, and the too poor to speak, the too smart to listen, and the too dumb to teach, two sides to every story so i listen to both speak, shout 2 all the dj’s, who gave a nigga replays, @fakeshoredrive @rapradar & the whole internet space, U put it online I put it in they face, and there it will remain, for atleast another week, right at number 1, hahaha yeah nigguh, stay strong Japan, Nate Dogg REST IN PEACE!!!”