Urban Thought Collective

MICHAEL SELLS 1.1 MILLION RECORDS IN 1 WEEK
I still hope that with all the madness going on, Michael’s soul is at peace finally.

Based on preliminary sales numbers released this week from Nielsen SoundScan, Michael Jackson’s catalog of solo albums sold an impressive 1.1 million copies in the U.S.

That’s a jump of 37% stacked next to the previous week, when his combined albums sold just shy of 800,000, reports Billboard.com.

Since Michael’s passing, American consumers have purchased more than 2.3 million Jackson albums. Record label sources have suggested that sales of Jackson’s albums were particularly strong last week because of publicity surrounding his memorial service.

Additionally, a wider selection of his albums were re-stocked by key retailers, in addition to key hits compilations like “Number Ones” and “The Essential Michael Jackson” and of course, “Thriller.”

Here is the breakdown of the sales blast:

“Number Ones” is the top selling album in the United States for the third week in a row, with 349,000 copies sold (an increase of 3%). “Thriller” moved 264,000 (up 41%) while “Essential” powered through another 149,000 (up 18%).

Some older Jackson titles also saw great gains, likely owed to the one-two punch of re-stocking by brick-and-mortar retailers and the publicity generated by the memorial service. “Off the Wall” sold 107,000 (up 108%), “Bad” did 97,000 (up 332%) and “Dangerous” blew through 67,000 (up 157%).

In turn, Jackson is still the King of the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart, which tallies albums that are more than 18 months old, have fallen below No. 100 on the Billboard 200 and don’t have a current radio single. Catalog albums are ineligible to appear on the Billboard 200 chart though they can chart on the Top Comprehensive Albums chart.

This week, the entire top 12 albums are all Jackson-related. The singer specifically has the titles at Nos. 1-6 and 9-12, while two Jackson 5 compilations hold down the fort at Nos. 7 and 8.

1 ) Michael Jackson “Number Ones”
2 ) Michael Jackson “The Essential Michael Jackson”
3 ) Michael Jackson “Thriller”
4 ) Michael Jackson “Off The Wall”
5 ) Michael Jackson “Bad”
6 ) Michael Jackson “Dangerous”
7 ) Jackson 5 “The Ultimate Collection”
8 ) Jackson 5 “The Best of Jackson 5: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection”
9 ) Michael Jackson “Greatest Hits: HIStory — Volume 1″
10 ) Michael Jackson “HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1″
11 ) Michael Jackson “Invincible”
12 ) Michael Jackson “The Ultimate Collection”

JAY-Z TO RELEASE HIS FIRST BOOK
According to The New York Observer, Brooklyn’s finest MC, Jay-Z is nearing in on a book deal that will include the release of a book on lyrics.

Word is, Jay-Z is almost in the final step of the book deal which is being made with Spiegel & Garu, an imprint of Random House.

Matthew Guma, Jay Z’s literary agent, pitched three types of books to publishers including a traditional memoir, a business book, and a book in which Jay-Z gives the back story to his lyrics. Spiegel & Garu are attempting to acquire the book on Jay Z’s lyrics.

If published, the book will become a first for Jay-Z. When The Black Album was released in 2003 their were plans for a book entitled The Black Book to be released as well, but plans to release the book were canceled by Jay-Z.

As of yet there is no release date for the book and neither Jay-Z or his agent have commented on the deal. We all knew that one day, even though he claims not to write his lyrics down, he would someday put his pen to pad!

WHITNEY INTRODUCES NEW ALBUM IN LONDON
Ms. “Hell to the Naw” is back! Whitney Houston made a personal appearance recently at a London listening party for her new Arista album, “I Look to You,”. I told you it was coming.

It seems that the diva looked most importantly healthy & quite stylish. Whitney briefly hit the stage at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge after Sony Music chief creative officer Clive Davis played nine tracks from the album, due to be released Sept. 1 in the U.S. (The U.K. release is via RCA on Aug. 31.)

Whitney broke it down like this: “When Clive called me I was pretty ready to buy my island home [and retire] but he said, ‘No, you’re going to sing again, people want to hear you.’”

Whit says, (I can call her that, just look at the “I’m Every Woman” video) the album as “a labor of love” she said: “I hope that these songs stay with you for a lifetime.”

Clive, who worked with Houston for the first time in 10 years on the album – stressed the disc is “by no means done,” while many of the songs played were still in unfinished form. “We didn’t try to fit Whitney Houston into the market,” Davis said. “The copyrights associated with Whitney in the 1980s and ’90s are part of the fabric of music today.”

Nonetheless, collaborators on the album read like a who’s who of contemporary pop/R&B, with songwriters and producers including Alicia Keys, Diane Warren, Stargate, R Kelly and Akon, who duets with Houston on “Like I Never Left.”

The tracks played were “Million Dollar Bill,” “Nuthin’ But Love,” “Call You Tonight” (which Davis said was a likely lead single), “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” “Like I Never Left,” “For the Lovers,” “I Look to You,” “Worth It” and a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You.”

FREE CHAPPELLE GIG DRAWS HUGE CROWD
Comedian Dave Chappelle delivered a free stand-up performance Tuesday night at the packed Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon that was advertised solely through Twitter, Facebook and text-message alerts.

According to Oregon Live, fans started gathering before midnight in anticipation of the show, and Chappelle took the stage just before 1 a.m.

Now who’s got the last laugh about the love in the universe. That money he walked away from will come again, but at his hand & no one else’s.

Reports came in as such:

The flash-mob-style assembly was more spectacle than comedy show, as the tiny sound system Chappelle spoke through made his jokes inaudible to most of the crowd beyond the first few rows.

Well before he took the stage, the mostly 20-something throng nearly filled the square, bursting into applause when Chappelle finally strode in at 12:53 a.m. to a small stage that was still in place from the square’s lunchtime concert series. Turning on an amplifier described as “the size of a toaster,” Chappelle addressed the audience — most of whom could not hear him — thanking the Portland Police for being”kind enough not to arrest me.”

Explaining that he was “not here for the money,” Chappelle said he was happy to see so many people “stand this close together and not be angry.” Oregon Live reported that one attendee said Chappelle had performed at a Portland-area restaurant called the Bye and Bye the night before, which explained why he was in town, but not why he chose to do the free public performance. Chappelle’s official Web site has no gigs listed for him at this time.

Most fans reportedly found out about the midnight show at the last minute after getting text messages from friends, and though Chappelle said he expected a few hundred to show up, the comedian, who arrived alone and with no security, was happy to see the huge crowd.

A fan climbed onstage at one point and announced that he was going to fetch a better sound system, but when he returned a while later he was thwarted by the fact that there was no power supply to plug it into. According to reports, the throng covered every square inch of the square, from the top of a Starbucks Coffee to the tin roof of a Shelly’s Honkin’ Huge Burritos cart, with the occasional woman flashing the crowd and Chappelle, and two men stripping at one point as the crowd egged them on.

Though the sound situation was never resolved, the crowd reportedly stayed calm as the occasional fan rushed the stage to shake Chappelle’s hand or take a picture with him. At one point, some impatient folks up front rocked the stage and those around them shouted “No!” and booed the action.

“This has never happened in my entire career,” Chappelle said as the audience burst into cheers. “I’m grateful everybody came out.” As 2 a.m. rolled around, it became obvious that the sound system would not work, and after telling a handful of jokes, Chappelle thanked the crowd and revealed one of the lessons he learned while in town: “Don’t tell a secret in Portland.” Then, just as strangely as it began, the show ended around 2:09 a.m. when Chappelle left the stage and meandered over to a nearby hotel, where he chatted with fans for a while.

NBA’S RICHARD JEFFERSON GETS COLD FEET
San Antonio Spurs star Richard Jefferson left his bride hanging last Saturday, stopping cold a posh Manhattan wedding that reportedly cost $2 million to prepare.

Jefferson — who was traded from the New Jersey Nets in June — dumped onetime Net dancer Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols just before the weekend. She immediately called her family and friends to say the ceremony booked at the Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle was off.

But Jefferson waited much longer, his friends told The Post. “He called about two hours before the wedding. It was nuts,” said one Jefferson pal.

He never showed up at the hotel, but “all his boys were there,” the friend said. “He gave his best friend the Black Amex credit card for the night.”

My thoughts: He’s a coward. Man up, say you want out, hand me my check, clean up the mess and keep it moving.

NEWS BLAST
***NBA ANTOINE WALKER (free agent) has been charged with three felonies for allegedly obtaining gambling markers by passing $1 million in bad checks to three Las Vegas casinos: Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort. Walker has paid back some of the bad markers, but still owes $822,500…

***RYAN SEACREST SIGNS $45 MILLION DOLLAR DEAL American Idol production company 19 Entertainment has re-upped Ryan Seacrest, keeping him on as host through 2012. He’ll receive a guaranteed $30 million, along with another $15 million for “personal goodwill, merchandising rights, rights to use Mr. Seacrest’s name, voice and image and his trademarks, and rights of publicity and promotion, all as they relate to American Idol.”

Seacrest is also a Premiere Radio Networks-syndicated personality and does mornings at Clear Channel’s KIIS-FM/Los Angeles. His Ryan Seacrest Productions will also be teaming with 19 CEO Simon Fuller on new projects. I know the former co-host Brian Dunkelman is sick!!

***BRANDY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH CRASH SURVIVOR of her fatal 2006 multi-car crash in Los Angeles. Motorist Mallory Ham who suffered facial injuries during the crash, and a severely broken nose has now settled with the singer for an undisclosed amount.

Awatef Aboudihaj died after her car collided with Brandy’s Range Rover three years ago. The singer avoided criminal charges, but was sued by Aboudihaj’s widower, Marouane Hdidou, and their two kids.

Brandy agreed earlier this month to pay the two children of the woman killed in the accident $300,000 each in compensation. The singer-actress has yet to reach an agreement with Hdidou, who rejected his part of a $1.2 million settlement back in February, despite his attorney’s pleas to take the money. That case continues.

***COMMON IS SUED OVER 1992 DEBUT SINGLE “Can I Borrow a Dollar?”

“Take it EZ,” the set’s first single, features a sample from Rasa’s “When Will The Day Come,” and says so in the credits for the downloadable version of the track. But, the shout-out in the credits doesn’t translate to money, according to the song’s writers Andrew Marks and London McDaniels. They filed suit on Tuesday seeking unspecified damages.

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host on The Steve Harvey Morning Show in Los Angeles, plus stints at New York’s WQHT/Hot 97, Atlanta’s WAOK/V103, LA’s Big Boy Morning Show at KPWR/Power 106 and Sirius Satellite Radio. Currently, Lez is partnered with DVA Media + Marketing as producer and host of the syndicated urban radio report, “The Urban Eye,” which launches nationwide this summer. Check out: www.myspace.com/BODIOGRAPHY