What would this time of year be like without Christmas rapping? Last year, Def Jam apparently started a new holiday tradition by defying industry convention and releasing DMX's "Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood" just three days before Christmas. It was an unusual move--most labels have feared that late-arriving albums would get lost in the holiday shuffle. But it was a big success as DMX sold more than 670,000 copies in a week. Will the Def Jam strategy work again? We'll find out this week, as DMX's third album, " . . . And Then There Was X," debuts on the charts Wednesday and a hotly awaited new disc from fellow Def Jam artist Jay-Z, "The Life and Times of S. Carter," hits store shelves on Tuesday. Retailers have pointed for months to these albums as potential blockbusters. "Those two are big, big, big releases, with a lot of fan interest," was the appraisal recently from Violet Brown, urban music buyer for Wherehouse. There is even talk within the label's headquarters that each album might surpass 1 million in sales in a week, a feat accomplished by only Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston and, most recently, the Backstreet Boys. Can it happen? Count Geoff Mayfield, the charts director of Billboard magazine, among the skeptics. "It's a very ambitious goal, really," Mayfield said. "Jay-Z's last album did very well 1/84.6 million in total U.S. sales 3/8 and was much more consistent than a lot of rap albums, but it also only sold 352,000 in its best week." And what about Jay-Z's recent arrest in connection with a New York nightclub stabbing? Will that deter parents from buying the Brooklyn rhymer's album for the key market of younger fans? It may not matter, Mayfield says. "The week after Christmas has now proven to be a big week for rap sales, and I think it's because a lot of kids are bringing in the CDs their parents got them and returning them for the ones they really want."
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