According to SoundScan, the Sacramento Kings’ Ron Artest sold one–that’s right, one*–copy of his album, My World, in its first week on the shelves. The XXL columnist who pointed out this statistic is calling for a SoundScan recount, but we’d like to launch a search for this person. So, consider this a call for the biggest Artest fan in America to step forward. We have a lot of questions, and many of them start with the word “why.”
*UPDATE: SoundScan glitched, and Artest actually sold 343 albums–which may sound better on first blush, until you remember that he moved about 5% of Kevin Federline’s first-week total. Now, we’re wondering if there’s anyone out there who bought both those albums.
Judgement Day [XXL, via Nah Right]
Earlier: Idolator Celebrates The NBA: Our Favorite Rapping Basketball Stars
“All of a sudden K-Fed doesn’t look like such a joke - he outsold Ice-T, Flavor Flav and at least one NBA player.”
How exactly does that make (now known as) Fed-Ex not such a joke?
If Artest wants to sell more albums, he should get shot, 10 times at least (put Fiddy in his place). Then, if he - God forbid - fails to survive, his sales should go through the roof. I expect a percentage from this!
I love the lost deadspin commenter.
It was probably Doug Christie.
The K-Fed duet must be on the horizon.
That’s so sad.
I’ve downloaded the album and I must say, he’s steps beyond Kobe…..Slightly better than Jewelz (Allen Iverson)…..Still got work to catch up to the Jay-Z of basketball rappers, Shaq……And the columnist you refer to is actually the editor-in-chief, Elliott Wilson……..
Personally, I’m waiting for it on All of MP3. That way, I can bundle it with the K-Fed.
I’m betting it was Ben Wallace, who subsequently took a shit on it and sent it to Artest in the mail.
I admit I bought the ‘album’ but my neighbor is using it to scare away muskrats from his septic system…
Why are we over here now?
In some ways, selling one is worse than selling none.
All of a sudden K-Fed doesn’t look like such a joke - he outsold Ice-T, Flavor Flav and at least one NBA player.
Maybe Turtle can play it in his Mazeratti and then put it in Aquaman….
(Yea, watched Entourage reruns last night)
This has to be an error. I saw Artest leaving a Best Buy in Folsom with a whole cart load of these CDs. He was wearing a Payton Manning wig, but I’m pretty sure it was him.
XXL made a correction: he’s actually up to 343.
Flavor Flav still sold almost 6 times as many records.
it was me. i needed a coaster, so i wouldn’t get watery circle marks my ikea table, and i needed a CD case, because the one i had for the monkees greatest hits got a big scratch in the front. it was $12.99, so buying those items separately vs buying this was pretty much the same.
When it comes to rapping, he’s no Shaquille O’Neal, that’s for sure.
I was supposed to pay for that?
One album?!? Christ, I didn’t even make an album and I almost tied him.
People, let’s keep in mind that these are SoundScan numbers, which totally discount the additional 17 copies he sold in mom-and-pop outlets.
I checked last night during the Kings game and posted the tally this morning. (I hadn’t read the post at XXL.) The total is indeed 341.
Given the street marketing done for the album (those snipes don’t come cheap) 341 is an embarassment. I’m sure it’s not a priority for WEA/Sire/Lightyear, or whatever Lightyear’s distribution arrangment is these days. I guess Artest has money to burn.
(166 sold in Sacramento, by the way.)
At least he put out an album. Iverson’s never came out, did it? Columbia shelved Kobe’s album. Sadly, Artest couldn’t even top the 803 first week sales of Chris Webber’s ‘99 classic Too Much Drama (also through Lightyear).