*Rapper Nas is about to replace Lil Wayne atop the Billboard 200 chart Wednesday when sales figures for his new untitled album hit the streets from Nielsen SoundScan.
According to the tracking firm, the Def Jam release sold 113,000 copies during its first three days of commercial availability through Thursday. The total, however, is considerably less than the first week sales of Nas' last No. 1 album, "Hip-Hop Is Dead," which arrived in late December 2006 selling 354,000 copies during Christmas week.
Lil Wayne currently leads the chart with "Tha Carter III," which sold 125,000 copies during the week ending July 13.
The three-day tally for Nas' album represents un-weighted sales at nine leading music merchants -- Trans World Entertainment, Apple, Best Buy, Circuit City, Borders, Starbucks, Target, Anderson Merchandisers and Handleman Co. They account for about 80% of the U.S. album market.