At first glance, 2Pac's double-whammy No. 1 debut on both the R&B and pop charts (toppling the seemingly invincible Bruce Springsteen) looks like confirmation of the cliche that the only bad publicity is no publicity. The ! rapper's recent conviction and jailing on sexual abuse charges no doubt juiced sales of his third solo album, Me Against the World. But 24-7 airplay for the disc's first single, ''Dear Mama,'' which topped last week's Hot Rap Singles chart and stands as one of The Box's most heavily rotated videos, probably moved more units than his rap sheet. His run on top of the pop chart may be short-lived in any case; Elton John's latest, Made in England, arrives next week. Last Weeks on Week Pop Albums Chart 1 - 2Pac Me Against the World, Out Da Gutta/Interscope 1 2 1 Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits, Columbia 3 3 4 Eagles Hell Freezes Over, Geffen 19 4 6 Hootie & the Blowfish Cracked Rear View, Atlantic 36 5 2 Soundtrack The Lion King, Walt Disney 42 6 5 Boyz II Men II, Motown 29 7 3 Sheryl Crow Tuesday Night Music Club, A&M 55 8 7 Garth Brooks The Hits, Liberty 14 9 9 Live Throwing Copper, Radioactive 47 10 8 Green Day Dookie, Reprise/Warner Bros. 58
R&B Album 1 - 2Pac Me Against the World, Out Da Gutta/Interscope 1 2 - E-40 In a Major Way, Sic Wid It/Jive 1 3 1 Mary J. Blige My Life, Uptown/MCA. 16 4 2 DJ Quik Safe + Sound, Profile. 4 5 3 TLC CrazySexyCool, LaFace/Arista 18 6 4 The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die, Bad Boy/Arista 27 7 8 Brandy Brandy, Atlantic 25 8 7 Adina Howard Do You Wanna Ride?, Mecca Don/EastWest 3 9 6 Kirk Franklin and The Family Kirk Franklin and the Family, Gospo-Centric 15 10 5 Boyz II Men II, Motown 29
of Ticket Shows CONCERTS Sales 1 3 The Grateful Dead Philadelphia $1,026,630 2 1 Tom Petty New York $606,195 3 1 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Dallas $552,557 4 1 Tom Petty Auburn Hills, Mich. $534,878 5 1 Boyz II Men Tacoma, Wash.. $533,330 6 1 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Houston $505,192 7 1 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Miami $454,263 8 1 Boyz II Men Salt Lake City $371,510 9 1 Van Halen Miami $331,231 10 1 Boyz II Men San Diego $307.656
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