Everything seemed to go wrong for the world of hip-hop music, with sales declining about 25 percent this year, compared to 2007, but Lil Wayne proved a rapper can be successful even in these tough times.

The singer became the first artist since 2005 to sell more than 1 million copies of an album in a single week, according to chart reports by Nielsen SoundScan. The last album to sell 1 million copies in 2005 was 50 Cent’s “Massacre.”

“Tha Carter III” debuted at No.1 on Billboard 200, with 423,000 copies sold in its first day of release. Such success from the very first day indicated that Wayne, whose real name Dwayne Carter Jr., was about to sell 900,000 of the CD in the first week, surpassing the record so far held by Mariah Carey, whose album “E=MC2” sold 463,000 copies in the month of April. But “Tha Carter III” actually was beyond expectations.

Despite the fact that the album was leaked online several weeks ago, many of the rapper’s fans decided to buy the CD.

Wayne hadn’t released anything since 2005, but he did not let himself be forgotten by fans. He kept working during this time, releasing mixtapes and appearing on many songs by famous singers such as Usher or Chris Brown.

“He stayed connected and nurtured his audience,” said Sylvia Rhone, president of Universal Motown Records, according to the New York Times. “He was always working. And I think the rabid following he’s cultivated is reflected in those sales numbers.”

“The Carter III” is Wayne’s sixth release and the lead single on the album, “Lollipop,” has maintained the first position in the top for five weeks. The rapper, who is now 25 years old, has started singing since he was a teenager, and he can now compare himself to big names in the domain of hip-hop music.