The pairing of a Queensbridge rapper and a Jamaican reggae star proved mighty enough to crack the top 5 on this week’s Billboard chart.

Nas and Damian Marley debut at the No. 5 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart with their joint effort Distant Relatives. Propelled by the album’s lead single, “As We Enter,” the duo’s collaboration sold 57,000 units in its first week. For Nas, this is his tenth top 10 career position and a second for Marley, who bowed at No. 7 in 2005 with his third album, Welcome to Jamrock.

The eclectic force that is Janelle Monáe entered the chart at No. 17 with The ArchAndroid, which features the singles “Cold War” and the Big Boi-assisted “Tightrope.” The singer’s set topped out at 21,000 copies for the week.

Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek, better known as Reflection Eternal, took the No. 18 spot (21,000) with their sophomore effort Revolutions Per Minute, the follow-up to 2000′s Train of Thought.

Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 drops 1-4 with 62,000, while his mentor Usher’s Raymond v. Raymond falls to No. 8, selling 41,000 copies.

–Georgette Cline

Posted in Damian Marley, Janelle Monáe, Nas | Permalink

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