Big House, Big Hit

Going to prison has given rapper 2Pac some sort of mythic stature in the rap community. The fact that he’s in jail on a sex abuse charge doesn’t seem to have deglamorized him at all. Fans keep buying “Me Against the World,” which is No. 4 on the Times’ Southern California pop album chart, but No. 1 nationally. What’s helping album sales is his smash hit single, “Dear Mama”--No. 8 on the regional and national pop charts. Stevie Wonder’s “Conversation Peace” album entered at No. 16 on both the Southern California and national pop charts--respectable but not a great start for the R&B; great.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Title, Artist (Nat’l Rank) Last Week 1 Made in England, Elton John (13) ... 2 Medusa, Annie Lennox (12) 2 3 Greatest Hits, Bruce Springsteen (2) 3 4 Me Against the World, 2Pac (1) 1 5 Tuesday Night, Sheryl Crow (7) 4 6 Hell Freezes Over, Eagles (4) 6 7 Dookie, Green Day (9) 9 8 Throwing Copper, Live (6) 8 9 No Need to Argue, Cranberries (14) 10 10 Cracked Rear View, Hootie and the Blowfish, (3) 11

TOP 10 SINGLES

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 This Is How ... , Montell Jordan (1) 1 2 Keep Their Heads Ringin’, Dr. Dre (9) 2 3 Candy Rain, Soul Four Real (2) 3 4 Lil’ Game We Play, Subway (11) 9 5 Baby, Brandy (5) 4 6 Red Light Special, TLC (4) 5 7 Run Away, Real McCoy (7) 10 8 Dear Mama, 2Pac (8) ... 9 I’d Rather Be Alone, IV Xample (58) 18 10 Freak Like Me, Adina Howard (6) 14

TOP 10 HARD ROCK ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Dookie, Green Day (1) 1 2 Smash, Offspring (3) 2 3 Balance, Van Halen (2) 3 4 Sixteen Stone, Bush (5) 4 5 Unplugged in New York, Nirvana (6) 6 6 Vitalogy, Pearl Jam (4) 5 7 Let’s Go, Rancid (16) 8 8 Above, Mad Season (7) 7 9 Rotting Pinata, Sponge (10) 9 10 Live Through This, Hole (15) 10

Source: SoundScan Inc., for week of Mar. 26