MUMBAI: Rapper Lil Wayne's new album 'Tha Carter III,' sells more than one million copies in a single week. As per chart reports, issued on 18 June morning by Nielsen SoundScan, the album tops the R&B Hip Hop genre.

In its first week in the market, the rapper's new album has sold just over one million units. The last album to top that milestone was 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in March 2005. In a slumping industry where selling 200,000 albums in one week is becoming a rare feat, Lil Wayne's achievement is not only a triumph but a much-needed boost to the industry.

Expectations for "Tha Carter III" were always high, and it delivered - selling 423,000 copies in its first day of release. It achieved blockbuster numbers despite being heavily bootlegged and leaked on the internet; past leaks of material for the CD caused Lil Wayne's label, Universal Motown, to delay its release several times. Already, he's had a No. 1 smash for several weeks. The track "Lollipop" has been featured on numerous hits over the past year, including the recent remix to Usher's "Love in This Club."

Wayne, 25, has been on the rap scene since he was a teen, but only in recent years has his star rivaled that of contemporaries. His last two albums "Tha Carter" and "Tha Carter II," sold 1.1 million and 1.4 million copies, respectively, though none of it was a multi platinum album.