'Thank Me Later': The Game Predicts Drake Will Sell 650,000 First Week

I wrote before about whether or not people believe that Drake's new album, 'Thank me Later,' is going to sell well during the first week. A long list of celebs have made their predictions. One of the more interesting predictions came from The Game, an artist out of California who represents a style of hip-hop that differs dramatically from Drake's. The Game predicts that Drake is going to sell 650,000 copies during the first week, which would be a strong performance for a debut album.

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Jay-Z
Brooklyn bomber Sean "Jay Z" Carter is one of hip-hop's greatest MCs. With his cocky, smart lyrics, Jigga began his career with 1996's 'Reasonable Doubt' (a rap classic) and hasn't looked back. Jay Z has released 14 albums, won seven Grammy Awards and sold at least 50 million records. He is now "retired" from rap to concentrate on his business ventures.

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2 Pac
From co-starring in films with Janet Jackson to selling multiplatinum records, Tupac Amaru Shakur is one of hip-hop's most celebrated artist. Beginning his career as a roadie for Digital Underground, Pac quickly rose to the forefront as a solo artist with such hits as 'I Get Around' and 'Dear Mama.' In 1996 the late rapper made history with his Death Row Records debut, 'All Eyez on Me,' which was the first double album in hip-hop.

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Salt-N-Pepa
Cheryl James, Sandy Denton and DJ Dee Dee Roper make up the spicy rap duo of Salt N Pepa. Mixing pop music with a tinge of female empowerment and sex, the group has sold more than 13 million discs to date. These Grammy-winning Queens from Queens were most recently seen on reality TV with 'The Salt-n-Pepa Show.'

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Run DMC
Run DMC (Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and the now deceased Jay Mizell) are true rap pioneers. Signed to the famed Def Jam label, Run DMC ruled the '80s with classics like 'It's Like That' 'You Be Illin' and 'Peter Piper.' They were the first group to merge rap and rock, to hit No. 1 on the R&B charts and to get a product endorsement (Adidas).

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Ludacris
With his distinctive articulation and wickedly sexy lyrics, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges is one of hip-hop's most successful, with a slew of hits including 'Stand Up,' 'Move B*tch' and 'Runaway Love.' Luda is also one of only a handful of rappers to have a successful record label, Distubing Tha Peace, with signees Chingy (who later bounced) and Bobby Valentino.

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Juvenille
Ridin' that beat like he stole somethin', Cash Money Records alum Juvenille (Terius Gray) is one of the most talented MCs to emerge from the South. With a string of hits starting in the late '90s including 'Ha,' and 'Slow Motion,' Juvie hit paydirt with 'Back That Azz Up' which propelled him to crossover fame.

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LL Cool J
The original cocky MC, James Todd Smith (LL Cool J) signed to Def Jam in 1985 at 17. That year, he dropped his first hit, rap classic 'Rock The Bells.' For the next 20 years, Cool J brought the pain with hits like 'Jinglin' Baby' 'Boomin' System' 'Going Back to Cali' and 'Mama Said Knock You Out.' LL has two Grammy Awards.

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Missy Elliot
Missy Elliot is not your typical sexed up femcee. In fact, not only is she a rapper, but she is a singer, producer and writer, having made songs for the likes of Aaliyah, Fantasia, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson. With her own hits like 'Get Ur Freak On' 'The Rain' and 'Hot Boyz' this five-time Grammy winner is a mistress of many trades.

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Eric B and Rakim
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50 Cent
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Given that some of the tracks on the album have already leaked, some predict that this is a reason to expect the album to not do so well. The Game thinks all that's an excuse, since Lil Wayne's album 'Tha Carter III,' also leaked to the Web and sold over a million copies in the first week.

To my surprise, The Game has a great deal of respect for Drake, but it took time for him to buy into his abilities:
"At first, I thought it was just catchy hooks," The Game said. "But he got something to say. I like it. He's not from America, but you can tell his influences are us, and dude [is] dope. Plus, all the chicks like him."

One of the reasons to be skeptical of The Game's 650,000 unit prediction for 'Thank Me Later' is that the last major project out of Young Money camp only sold 142,000 units during its first week. The album, 'We are Young Money,' featured a multitude of artists, including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda, Mack Maine, Tyga, Lil' Chuckee and Lil Twist.

The other Young Money project released at the end of 2009 didn't come with as much fanfare as Drake, but he and Nicki Minaj have emerged as two of the hottest artists of 2010. Drake has already earned millions from his newfound fame. According to the terms of his deal with Young Money as reported in the L.A. Times, Drake has been "hooked up" big time:

Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2 million advance. He retains the publishing rights to his songs and cedes only around 25 percent of his music sales revenues to the label as a "distribution fee," his managers said. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of new artists sign financially restrictive "360 deals" that sap their touring and merchandise income and offer much more restrictive profit sharing.

Drake is for real, and unlike his contemporary Nicki Minaj, people are predicting that he may impact hip-hop for a very long time. But only time will tell how long his reign lasts... it's far from over. 'Thank Me Later' hits stores today.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book 'Black American Money.' To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.