Best Selling Rap Album Of All Time

Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" is the best selling rap album of all time. Some would dispute their number one spot. Part of the controversy is that this is a double album and when a double album is sold it counts twice according to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The RIAA lists the sales at 11 million albums but they actually sold 5.5 million double albums. The second in line for the title of best selling rap album is MC Hammer’s rap album “Please Hammer Don't Hurt ‘Em”which sold 10 million copies.

"Speakerboxxx" is one half of this double rap album and is the solo work of Big Boi. The other half is the solo album of André 3000. This duo had six Grammy Award nominations. It won three of those; Album of the year, Best Rap Album and Urban Performance of the Year). It was only the second rap album to win in the Best Album Grammy category. The other three nominations included Record of the Year, Best Short-Form Music Video and Producer of the Year and singles from the album hit the Billboard 100. Most critics gave the rap album high ratings, although most were more impressed by "The Love Below" album than the "Speakerboxxx" album.

There were three singles from this rap album; “Hey Ya” which went to the top spot on the Billboard Top 100. After nine weeks the second single, "The Way You Move” took the number one spot. “Roses” was the third single and made its way to number nine. The next two singles from this best selling rap album did not even make it to the top 100; “Prototype” and “Ghetto Musick”.

No matter the individual’s taste, it is hard to ignore this best selling rap album. Perhaps Christian Hoard who reviewed the rap album in “Rolling Stone” said it better than anyone, "Big Boi's 'Speakerboxxx' drops cutting-edge hip-hop that's at turns freaky and socially aware. Andre 3000's 'The Love Below' eschews hip hop almost entirely with a set of jazzy pop funk steeped in the eclectic influence of Prince; for sheer breadth, ambition, and musical vision, there's little doubt 'The Love Below/Speakerboxxx' is a classic."