Despite an early leak, Lil Wayne still managed to rock the charts with his latest album, but he couldn’t top a country act.
The Cash Money rapper’s oft-delayed Rebirth debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 176,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He placed second to Nashville stars Lady Antebellum and their sophomore effort Need You Now, which holds onto the No. 1 spot for a second week with 209,000.
Rebirth marks the seventh top 10 album for Weezy, who has a little more time to record his next album Tha Carter IV now that his sentencing has been adjourned to March 2 due to dental surgery.
Wayne’s last album, Tha Carter III, was the best-selling album of 2008, moving over 1 million copies in its first week. Rebirth suffered from numerous delays and was prematurely shipped to Amazon.com customers in December, causing it to surface online more than a month in advance of its street date.
