Kanye, Nicki, Jay-Z, Rihanna To Release High-Profile CD’s

Get ready for a hip-hop explosion. New York Daily News.com reports that several hip-hop heavy hitters are due to release albums this month. From hotly anticipated comebacks (Ne-Yo and Nelly) to long-awaited debuts (Nickie Minaj's album is still forthcoming?) to hipster favorites like Kid Cudi and N.E.R.D., club-friendly acts (Akon and Flo-Rida) and even a greatest-hits collection from Jay-Z, November is so full of releases, your ipod may not be able to contain it all.

According to Vibe magazine's editor in chief Jermaine Hall, they haven't seen something like this in a while, . "It might even be the most exciting month since Kanye West and 50 Cent coming out together," referring to the 2007 faceoff which caused some of hip hop's biggest record sales ever. According to Nielsen, this year saw a substantial sales rise for hip hop in general, all before this month's burst of releases.

David Bakula, senior vice president at Neilsen Entertainment says "If you look at what Kanye did with ‘808s and Heartbreaks' [in 2008] the first week alone, he had 450,000 in sales, add a couple of others and you've got a lot of potential to hit 1.3 million units in a week alone." Those "couple of others" will arrive in a big-time showdown of releases on Nov. 22, when four artists will go head to head. Queens-bred Nickie Minaj will match her debut, "Pink Friday," with Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Jay-Z's greatest hits and Lloyd Banks' comeback effort, "The Hunger for More 2." "It's definitely the biggest day of the year," Banks told Rap-Up.com. "I'm cool, hip hop is competitive. I'd rather be in there with the traffic than not be there." Minaj, too, is ready to battle. "The stars are going to align," she says, "It's been a long time since we've had a powerful week in hip hop, so it's a great thing. It's not about who sells more, but it's about making an insane impact."

Filed Under: jay-z, kanye west, nicki manaj, Release, Rihanna

Categories: WNY News