Nelly, Lil’ Kim Rap Their Way to Nos. 3 and 4 on Chart

A Nelly, a Kelly and a Kim arrive this week in the Top 10 tally of U.S. albums, but Eminem is still the name at No. 1.

Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” is the best-selling album in the nation for the sixth consecutive week after selling 342,000 copies last week. The disc, featuring the hit “The Real Slim Shady,” has now surpassed 4.4 million total copies sold since its debut in May.

Youth pop singer Britney Spears held on to the No. 2 spot with her sophomore disc “Oops! . . . I Did It Again,” which sold 257,000 copies, while new rap releases from Nelly and Lil’ Kim claim the next two spots on the chart.

Nelly, a St. Louis rhymer who began his career in the St. Lunatics crew, opens at No. 3 with his solo debut album “Country Grammar,” which sold 252,000 copies. The disc features guest turns by the Teamsters, Lil’ Wayne and Cedric the Entertainer, and the video for the title track is already a fan favorite on the Box network. That video is steeped in images of the rapper’s Missouri hometown, which he hopes to add to the widening map of regional rap hubs. “St. Louis is like a time bomb waiting to explode,” the rapper says on his Web site, “[but] no one had accomplished much musically.”

Lil’ Kim, meanwhile, arrives at No. 4 with “Notorious K.I.M.,” which sold 229,000 copies. The petite Brookyln rhymer made a name for herself by introducing a rare, confident female voice into the area of explicitly raunchy rap with her 1996 debut “Hard Core.” The new disc’s title acknowledges her late mentor and producer, the Notorious B.I.G., who was shot to death in 1997. Sean “Puffy” Combs steps in this time to handle most of the producing chores.

Debuting at No. 5 this week is R&B; singer Kelly Price, who also has a connection to the Notorious B.I.G.--she handled the vocals on his hit “Mo Money Mo Problems,” and she also worked as a backup singer for Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin and Faith Evans. She launched her solo career in 1998 with “Soul of a Woman” and follows that up now with “Mirror Mirror,” which sold 157,000 copies its first week.

Creed’s “Human Clay” climbs up one notch to No. 6 this week, while ‘N Sync’s “No Strings Attached” drops two spots to No. 7. The Sacramento band Papa Roach makes its Top 10 debut by climbing two spots to No. 9 with the album “Infest.” Another Sacramento rock outfit, the Deftones, slide in the opposite direction as their disc “White Pony” drops from No. 3 to No. 15 in its second week in stores.

On the singles chart, Christina Aguilera’s “I Turn to You” takes over the top spot, bumping Mariah Carey’s “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)” down to No. 2.