I.B. on Eminem sales, leak

RAP RENAISSANCE: The last two weeks have put the lie to media claims that hip-hop is “over,” as first Drake (who debuted last week with 463k) and now Eminem (with a stunning 754k—the biggest debut since AC/DC’s Black Ice bowed with 802k in October 2008) have propped up the record and retail businesses with an emphatic and exhilarating one-two punch. Those two smashes have also enlivened the debate about whether leaks have been hurting high-profile release, with some asserting that those leaks have heightened anticipation of the two albums, as fans who downloaded them from P2P sites threw down for the official releases as soon as each became available. (7/1a)