LOS ANGELES, April 19, (RTRS): Veteran soul singer Lionel Richie knocked Nicki Minaj off the top spot of the Billboard chart on Wednesday as his country album “Tuskegee” made the rare climb to No. 1, three weeks after its release.
It is uncommon for albums to climb to the top position in weeks following their release. Most chart-toppers tend to debut at No. 1, but sales for “Tuskegee” remained steady since it entered the chart in late March at No. 2.
Richie, 62, changed directions musically and embraced country music with “Tuskegee,” collaborating with country stars such as Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Shania Twain and Willie Nelson on classic Richie hits.
“Tuskegee”, which sold 129,000 copies last week, is Richie’s highest charting album since 1986, when “Dancing On The Ceiling” topped the chart.
Last week’s chart-topper, Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” fell to No. 3, behind Adele’s “21,” which held steady at No. 2.
Highest
R&B singer Monica’s latest album, “New Life,” made the highest debut this week, entering the chart at No. 4, while blues singer and slide guitar player Bonnie Raitt debuted at No. 5 with “Slipstream.”
Former Google employee-turned-rapper Hoodie Allen made an impressive entry at No. 10 with his self-released EP “All American,” selling 27,000 copies. Allen also said that he would personally call every person who bought his album, in a letter to his fans prior to the album release.
Australian singer Gotye’s album “Making Mirrors” climbed from No. 15 to No. 7 with its biggest sales week of 54,000 copies, boosted by his performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.
The singer’s break-up anthem “Somebody That I Used To Know,” also topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Digital Songs charts this week, after Fox’s hit television show “Glee” covered the song in a recent episode. .

Also:
LOS ANGELES: Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs topped a list of hip hop’s wealthiest artists compiled by Forbes on Wednesday, beating out contemporaries Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Birdman and 50 Cent.
Combs’ net worth was estimated at $550 million, including high returns from his investment in Ciroc as well as clothing lines Sean John and Enyce, record label Bad Boy, marketing company Blue Flame and numerous tech start-ups.
The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper, 42, beat out hip hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, who came in at No. 2 with a net worth of $460 million.
Carter, 42, who is married to R&B superstar Beyonce, continued to rake in substantial earnings from music and tours after signing a $150 million deal with concert promoters Live Nation in 2008, as well as investments in the New Jersey Nets basketball team, the 40/40 club chain and numerous other business ventures.
Pioneering rapper Dr. Dre, 47, who has worked with top artists including Eminem and 50 Cent, took the No. 3 position, with a net worth of $260 million, a bulk of which comes from his headphone company, Beats Electronics, which he co-owns with Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine.
The top five was rounded out by Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams, 43, at No. 4 with a net worth of $125 million, while Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, 36, takes the No. 5 spot with $110 million, and earned $100 million in 2007 for his stake in the VitaminWater drink.
The Forbes Five list is compiled by the publication’s editors after valuing current holdings, past earnings, financial documents and speaking to analysts and experts in the field.
The list only took into account hip hop artists and rappers who perform, and did not include producers and other industry influencers behind the scenes.
The full list of 2012’s wealthiest hip hop artists can be found on Forbes.com/forbesfive.