In this week’s Hip-Hop and R&B Charts, Alicia Keys has a monster No. 1 debut, Jay-Z’s American Gangster slips to the No. 8 spot, Chris Brown holds on to the Top 10 and Boyz II Men’s homage to Motown nabs No. 27 in its first week out.

Alicia Keys scored the year’s second-highest debut – behind only Kanye West’s Graduation – with her third release As I Am, according to Neilsen’s SoundScan. The album pushed 742,400 copies in its first week off the strength of the No. 1 single “No One.”

Jay-Z slips 7 spots to No. 8, pushing 130,600 copies of American Gangster, the return to the streets inspired by the movie of the same name. Last week’s No. 1 opening tied Jay-Z with Elvis for their 10 No. 1 debuts, second only to The Beatles. The God MC’s two-week total stands at 556,400.

Chris Brown falls six spots to No. 10 with his sophomore album Exclusive, which pushed 109,600 copies in its second week on the charts. The self-proclaimed “Prince of R&B” has moved 404,600 units with a little help from guests The Game, Big Boi, Lil’ Wayne and Kanye West, plus the digitally enhanced T-Pain on the hit single “Kiss Kiss.”

Keyshia Cole falls five spots to No. 26 with her sophomore album Just Like You, which sold 44,900 copies this week, a 16 percent increase over last week’s total. After eight weeks, the songstress has sold 622,900 copies.

Boyz II Men, minus bass Michael McCary, debuted at No. 27 this week, pushing 41,700 copies of their album Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA, which covers classics by Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5 and Smokey Robinson and features an appearance from Patti LaBelle.

Soulja Boy dropped four spots to No. 29 this week, cranking out 35,600 copies of his debut disc Souljaboytellem.com. After seven weeks, the 17-year-old “Teen of da South” has moved 337,000 copies.

Kanye West fell eight spots to No. 34, selling 30,400 copies of Graduation. After 10 weeks, the rapper-producer who recently lost his mother, Dr. Donda West, has sold 1,674,600 copies of his third album.

Will Fergie ever drop out of the Top 50? The answer, apparently, is not any time soon. After 61 weeks on the charts, The Black Eyed Pea singer turned solo artist fell 7 spots to No. 38, but enjoyed an 8 percent increase in sales with her album The Dutchess, moving 28,100 copies. The album’s sales total stands at 2,930,900 copies.

Timbaland plummets 17 spots to No. 50 this week, with 22,400 copies of his solo effort Shock Value. After 33 weeks, the super producer has sold 856,700 copies.

Double-time rhymers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony debuted at No. 73 with T.H.U.G.S., a compilation of previously unreleased material, which sold 15,200 in its first week out.

Next week look for Freeway and Mike Jones to make an appearance on the Hip-Hop and R&B Charts.