Kanye West is set to debut his album "Yeezus" on June 18 to reportedly sell 500,000 copies its first week.
"That's what industry forecasters suggest," Keith Caulfield, Billboard's associate director of charts/retail told USA today. "It's difficult to a degree to predict an album's sales until it actually goes on sale, but the closer you to are to the release date, the better you can tell. It's like a weather forecast."
"Yeezus" is the rapper's sixth studio album. His past albums have debuted with just under 500,000 copies sold.
West's last two solo albums 2010's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" debuted with 496,000, and 2008's "808s & Heartbreak" with 450,000. Both were released during Thanksgiving week and successful sales can be attributed to the holiday releases.
"[The last two albums] had a big holiday and Christmas to drive sales, and you don't have that now," Caulfield said. "Plus, he's missing the Father's Day window."
West has kept quiet about his new music, which reportedly is an unconventional marketing technique. According to reports, no songs from the album have leaked.
"Nobody knows what it sounds like," Caulfield told USA Today. "There's no single, no video, no formal promotional rollout. The album kind of drops out of the sky with some mystery and excitement that can drive interest."
Justin Timberlake's album "The 20/20 Experience" was released in March and sold 968,000 copies. The current projections mean West will have the second best album debut this year.
West has become a tabloid cover staple because of his relationship with Kim Kardashian.
West's publicist denied recent allegations that he was cheating on his pregnant girlfriend in a statement to TMZ.
"This most recent attack on Kanye West and his family is totally without merit," it read. "It's a blatant attempt by a misguided individual who is clearly seeking publicity, and another in a series of malicious stories drummed up by non-credible 'news' sources."
