Another week, another No. 1 hip-hop debut. This time the top spot goes to the New Orleans-based rapper Master P, whose "Ghetto D" takes the album sales chart by storm, selling an impressive 260,000 copies during the week ending September 7, according to SoundScan. The hardcore rapper, who was the driving force behind the "I'm Bout It" movie and soundtrack -- which debuted on the album chart at No. 4 in May -- is just the latest in a long line of recent chart-topping hip-hop acts that includes Puff Daddy, Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
\\Following "Ghetto D" were Puff Daddy & the Family's "No Way Out" (with 140,000 copies sold); Fleetwood Mac's "The Dance" (117,000); Trisha Yearwood's "Songbook: A Collection of Hits" (98,000); Jewel's "Pieces of You" (92,000); Spice Girls' "Spice" (88,000); Matchbox 20's "Yourself Or Someone Like You" (84,000); the soundtrack to "Men In Black" (81,000); Oasis' "Be Here Now" (73,000), and Prodigy's "The Fat of the Land" (71,000).
\\Also last week, the MTV Video Music Awards (telecast live September 4 and then re-run endlessly in the days that followed) enjoyed its highest ratings ever. It showed at the record stores: virtually every performer and major winner experienced a sales gain. The most dramatic jump went to Jamiroquai's "Traveling Without Moving," which was named Best Video of the Year and jumped from No. 75 to No. 29 on the chart. Even show host Chris Rock got in on the fun -- his comedy album "Roll With the New" re-entered the chart at No. 191.
\\One of the week's only black clouds hovers over Oasis' "Be Here Now." A smash internationally, the record is not selling as well as expected i
