COOL RECEPTION: While the high-flying Hammer and...

COOL RECEPTION: While the high-flying Hammer and Ice Cube albums are nestled in the Billboard Top 10, some other rap albums that were released with great expectations haven’t done so well.

Young M.C.’s “Brainstorm” peaked at No. 66 shortly after its release in late August and started plummeting fast--quite a comedown for an artist whose previous album was a smash hit.

Another disappointment has been MC Lyte’s “Act Like You Know,” which was supposed to make her a major mainstream star. Less than two months after its release, it’s no longer even in the Billboard Top 200. And Queen Latifah’s “Nature of a Sista’ ” is in the Top 200--but barely, at No. 181.

What went wrong?

Rap expert James Bernard, senior editor of the rap magazine the Source, believes all three are different cases:

“MC Lyte still hasn’t found her market,” he said. “Though people know her name, she doesn’t have that strong a fan base.

“Latifah’s problem is that there’s a perception in the hip-hop community that she abandoned her rap fan base. This album was designed for the pop market. She alienated her old fan base and she’s paying for it.”

And pop phenom Young M.C.?

“Just a simple case of the fickleness of the pop audience,” Bernard said. “What the fans want keeps changing. Any album is a gamble. Young M.C. gambled and lost.”