T.I. Tops Charts Before Album Drops

Livesteez.com

 

Atlanta rapper T.I. has set a new record on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The self-proclaimed King of the South makes the biggest jump to the top of the Billlboard Hot 100, as "Whatever You Like" soars from number 71 to number 1 in its third week on the list, according to Billboard.com. The sky-rocketing leap is attributed to Hot Digital Songs with debut-week sales of 205,000 downloads, and is the impetus for the record-setting Hot 100 move. The song is also doing well at radio, jumping up from the number 33 spot to 20 on Hot 100 Airplay and moving from number 13 to 8 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The track, produced by Jim Jonsin, who is also the creator behind Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop," is the rapper's first No. 1 single as a lead artist, and his opening-week digital sum totals are the best by a rap track since Nielsen SoundScan began compiling download data in 2003. T.I.'s forthcoming Grand Hustle/Atlantic album, "Paper Trail," is due out September 30.