Jay-Z To Release “Black” Cellphone, On Pace To Land At #1

Jay-Z is in negotiations with a major wireless handset manufacturer and will create a "black" cell phone, which will be available in December. The "black" cell phone is in line with the mogul’s "black" theme, centered around the release of what he calls the final solo album of his rap career. The black version of […]

Jay-Z is in negotiations

with a major wireless handset manufacturer and will create a "black"

cell phone, which will be available in December.

The "black"

cell phone is in line with the mogul’s "black" theme, centered around

the release of what he calls the final solo album of his rap career.

The black version

of his S.Carter sneaker has been moved up to November 21, while The Black

Album, which was slated to drop November 28, was bumped up to November 14

due to rampant piracy online and street bootlegging.

Even with the release

date being moved up by two weeks, the demand for both Jay-Z’s The Black Album

and G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy, proved to be immense.

Both titles violated

their official street release date and major retailers had the albums on the

shelves as early as Tuesday, the same day that Tupac Shakur’s Resurrection

soundtrack hit the stores.

Jay-Z is on pace

move 400,000 units, which could edge out Shakur’s release on Billboard’s Top

200 Albums Chart.

Resurrection

is on pace to move 350,000 units, but sales may spike due to the release of

the accompanying film to theaters nationwide.

G-Unit is expected

to take the number 3 position and move close to 300,000 copies.