CHRISTMAS RAPPING: LET NAS BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS

Building on an old-fashioned controversy with fellow Noo Yawk rapper Jay-Z, Nas' new Ill Will/Columbia record Stillmatic looks set for a boffo Top 3 debut with more than 350k in first-week sales, and a shot at 400k, based on one-day retail reports from around the country. That represents a substantial boost over the hip-hop icon's last album, 1999's Nastradamus, which sold 230k its first week on the way to 1 million in total sales.

Lil' Bow Wow's Doggy Bag (So So Def/Columbia) will do well over 200k, though this weekend's rack numbers could propel it much higher. The hip-hop tyke's previous album, last year's Beware of Dog, grabbed 100k in first-week sales on the way to a total of 2.4 OTC. Wu-Tang Clan's The WWII (Loud) is looking at sales in the 175k range. The band's last disc, 2000's The W, sold 300k in its first seven days, with a current total of 1 million.

Ruff Ryders' Ride or Die Vol. 3 (Interscope) should do in the 150k range (Vol. 2 did 6,500 first-week and a total of 1.1 million) while Mystikal's Tarantula (Jive) and Jay-Z's LiveMTV Unplugged (Roc-A-Fella/IDJ) look to do around 125k.

Don't be surprised if you find a gat under your Xmas tree.