Hat Trick for Nas

Nas who? That’s a question you won’t hear too much anymore. The New York rapper, who has a very strong following in the hip-hop underground, has finally made himself a force to be reckoned with on the mainstream pop charts. “It Was Written,” his second Columbia album, scores hat tricks on The Times’ Southern California chart and on the national sales chart--a No. 1 position on the album, R&B; and rap charts.

TOP 10 ALBUMS *--*

Title, Artist (Nat’l Rank) Last Week 1 It Was Written, Nas (1) -- 2 Secrets, Toni Braxton (5) 1 3 Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (3) 2 4 Load, Metallica (2) 3 5 The Nutty Professor, soundtrack (10) 6 6 Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt (11) 10 7 The Score, Fugees (4) 5 8 New Beginning, Tracy Chapman (7) 7 9 E. 1999 Eternal, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (6) 8 10 Gettin’ It (Album Number Ten), Too Short (21) 4

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TOP 10 SINGLES *--*

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 How Do U Want It, 2Pac (1) 1 2 You’re Makin’ Me High, Toni Braxton (2) 2 3 Twisted, Keith Sweat (4) 6 4 Loungin, LL Cool J (10) 7 5 Why I Love You So Much, Monica (8) 3 6 Kissin’ You, Total (7) 9 7 Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix), Los Del Rio (3) 10 8 I Can’t Sleep, R. Kelly (6) -- 9 Theme From “Mission: Impossible,” Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen (15) 5 10 Tha Crossroads, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (5) 4

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HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL *--*

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Load, Metallica (1) 1 2 Down on the Upside, Soundgarden (2) 2 3 Evil Empire, Rage Against the Machine (3) 3 4 Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Smashing Pumpkins (4) 6 5 311, 311 (12) 10 6 Music for Our Mother Ocean, various artists (16) -- 7 Tiny Music . . . Sounds From the Vatican Gift Shop, Stone Temple Pilots (8) 5 8 Electriclarryland, Butthole Surfers (6) 9 9 Sixteen Stone, Bush (5) 8 10 It’s Martini Time, Reverend Horton Heat (33) --

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Source: SoundScan Inc., for week ending July 7.