New York, NY. (Rock-a-Fella Records) - JAY-Z has scored his ninth No 1 entry on Billboard's Top 200 album chart with the release of KINGDOM COME. His newest chart topping debut ties him with the
Rolling Stones for most No 1 albums behind the
Beatles (19) and
Elvis Presley (10). Released on Tuesday, November 21st, KINGDOM COME was the top selling disc, across the board, moving 680,000 copies in its first week.
KINGDOM COME is JAY-Z's 7th consecutive solo album (VOL. 2 - HARD KNOCK LIFE, VOL. 3 - LIFE AND TIMES OF S. CARTER, DYNASTY, BLUEPRINT, BLUEPRINT 2, BLACK ALBUM) and his 9th studio release (COLLISION COURSE w/ Linkin Park and UNFINISHED BUSINESS w/ R. Kelly) to debut at No 1 on the Billboard Album chart. Over the course of his 10 year career, this is JAY-Z's biggest first week debut, outpacing his previous best, the 2000 release of DYNASTY, which scanned 557,789 first week. It is also the highest debut by a hip hop artist in over a year. KINGDOM COME has already shipped 2 million copies to date.
KINGDOM COME was propelled to the top spot after an unprecedented campaign which included a stellar performance at the recent American Music Awards, shutting down Hollywood Boulevard for a LIVE w/ Jimmy Kimmel concert in front of 10,000 fans, the unprecedented "Hangar Tour," which took JAY-Z to seven cities for seven performances in 24 hours, a GQ "Man Of The Year" cover. For the 1st time a music video debuted on ESPN's Monday Night Football, for the album's lead single, "Show Me What You Got and JAY-Z became the No 1 on-demand artist ever on Clear Channel Radio, with 600,000 plays in one week on more than 220 station websites.
KINGDOM COME's newest single, "Lost One" was recently the No 1 most added song on Urban radio and the video to the much talked about track, directed by Anthony Mandler, will debut today, Monday, December 4th on MTV.
Coming up, JAY-Z will be featured on the ABC program: "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006," on December 12th at 10:00pm (EST).
The release of KINGDOM COME came on the heels of JAY-Z's "Global Express" tour in which he performed in over 20 countries on four continents in two months. While on tour, JAY-Z joined forces with the United Nations and MTV in the Water For Life campaign with the mission to raise awareness on the world's water crisis. His journeys were chronicled in the documentary Diary Of JAY-Z: Water For Life.
Since the release of his first album in 1996, Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter has come to personify the new "American Dream" for millions the world over. Named President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, in 2005, he is the founder and chairman of Rocawear, co-owner of the NJ Nets, co-owner of the 40/40 sports clubs and co-owner of skin care and beauty line Carol's Daughter. In addition, he continues his philanthropic work through his Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Over his career, the multiple award winner has sold over 40 million albums and sold out arenas the world over.
