According to first week sales projections, August Alsina’s sophomore album, This Thing Called Life, is expected to marginally outsell R. Kelly’s latest studio effort, The Buffet.
As noted by HipHopDX, This Thing Called Life is expected to sell between 30,000 and 35,000 units during its first week on sale. TTCL follows 2014's Testimony, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 67,000 copies in the United States.
Prior to its release, Alsina shared Instagram videos of DJ Khaled praising his newest release and comparing it to classics.
“The structure’s unbelievable, man. Not lying to you, it’s on my mama,” Khaled said of Alsina's sophomore release. “I like the way you sequenced the album. I love the music. The only time I’ve ever heard albums like that was Dr. Dre’s Chronic or Nas’ Illmatic.”
In addition to the latest single “Song Cry” and previously released cut “Hip-Hop,” TTCL includes guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jadakiss and Anthony Hamilton.
R.Kelly’s thirteenth studio album The Buffet is projected to trail closely behind, moving between 28,000 and 33,000 units during its first week at retail. His project also features Lil Wayne as well as Jeremih and Juicy J, among others.
The New York Times gave the album a lukewarm review, writing, "The concept for “The Buffet,” he has explained in several interviews, is, unsurprisingly, breadth. As of his last record, “Black Panties” in 2013, he has gone back to the lewd stuff, after two relatively sweet throwback soul records that followed his acquittal on child-pornography charges in 2008. So now he’s mixing it up — sleaze and sentimentality."
Both albums were released on Dec. 11 through Def Jam Recordings (Alsina) and RCA Records (Kelly).
