Originally posted by Billboard

Hip-hop veteran Nas achieves his sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, as "Life Is Good" bows with 149,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That surpasses initial forecasts for the set by industry prognosticators, which had pegged it to begin with around 125,000.

Nas previously hit the top with "It Was Written" (1996), the collaboration set "The Firm" (1997; with Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature), "I Am" (1999), "Hip-Hop Is Dead" (2007) and "Untitled" (2008). The latter -- Nas' last solo studio release -- arrived with 187,000. More recently, his 2010 "Distant Relatives" collabo effort with Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley started at No. 5 with 57,000.

On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Nas also debuts at No. 1, securing him his ninth topper on the tally. Among rap acts, only Jay-Z has earned more leaders on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, with 12.