For the past few years, hip-hop has been on a bit of a losing streak in terms of record sales. Although there have been a few significant events like the return of Jay-Z and Nas, T.I. facing himself, Jim Jones balling out of control, and the South proving they shall rise again (in rap that is), none of these moments were able to sustain rap’s previous dominance on the billboard charts. Even though these moments didn’t really make that much of a difference saleswise, there looks like there might be two saving graces in hip-hop that might just help it get off its feet again.
50 Cent and super-producer/rapper, Kanye West having been going back and forth promoting their third solo albums prior to their September 11 release. Well the wait is over, and now both albums are out and the world is listening.
Now, before one can go about determining which album to buy, one has to briefly backtrack and remember how this historic event in hip-hop all started. When 50 Cent was having problems with rapper Cam’ron, he decided to change the name of his next album “Before I Self-Destruct” to “Curtis”, just to get under Cam’ron’s skin. The album, scheduled to come out in June, was then delayed to Sept. 11. Around the same time Kanye’s next album entitled “Graduation”, was also scheduled to come out in August, but Def Jam president Jay-Z, then decided to push the album’s date back to Sept. 11 as well just to have a little competitive fun with 50 Cent. Then 50 bet Kanye that if his album sells less than Kanye’s in the first week of sales, he will then retire from the world of rap.
Since that statement was made by 50 Cent over the summer, the competition has been heating up. Let’s do a quick tale of the tape $between 50 Cent’s “Curtis”, and Kanye West’s “Graduation”.
Past Results:Both artists are now on their third solo album which is a good thing, but 50 technically had five albums altogether including the movie soundtrack and the G-Unit album. The first two albums for 50 Cent have sold over 800,000 on their first week. Kanye’s on the other hand has only sold over 600,000 on the first week alone. So if you’ve never listened to these two artists’ previous work, and you’re going by sales, then you know who to buy first.Advantage: 50 Cent
Production:The beats on both albums are great. Kanye beats were basically all made by him, but 50’s beats were done by Dr. Dre, Timbaland and fellow GUnit member Havoc. But when you listen to both albums closely, you’ll notice that Kanye’s beats have more of a natural flow to it, while 50 beats sound more like the last two albums.Advantage: Kanye West
Collaborations:Originally, West promised that there would be no other artist on his album. Well apparently Mr. West had a change of heart. Some big name artists on the album include T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Lil’ Wayne, and Mos Def. However, he does do a good job collaborating with these artists and others like Dwele and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. 50 Cent, who once again is collaborating with members of G-Unit, Eminem and Mary J. Blige, decided to take a different approach. He decided to take a softer approach on this album by hooking up with Justin Timberlake, and Akon, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke. This is a big change for 50 Cent and it gives him an advantage. Advantage: 50 Cent
Songs:By the end of the summer, the public had already heard five songs off of 50’s album and Kanye only had two out at that point. Kanye’s songs really show the rapper’s growth in his lyrics and who he picked for the songs. However, it all comes down to “Big Brother”, Kanye’s dedication to Jay-Z, and 50’s hood classic”I Get Money”. In the end, 50’s songs aren’t really much to brag about since they’re in the same song formation as the last two, which was making a plethora of gangster songs, a mainstream club hit, and couple of love songs.Advantage: Kanye West
Overall: 50 Cent’s album “Curtis” is really just like the last two albums. However, he does get bonus points for the collaborations on the album. Kanye West’s album Graduation is really like a student graduating from school. You can really see the growth of Kanye rapping and producing skills taking a turn for the better. The only question is whether the world still likes Kanye West. He’s had a lot of different temper tantrums on MTV including the Video Music Awards that took place last Sunday. By now, mainstream America might just be tired of Kanye’s antics and buy 50’s album just to teach Kanye that he’s not the only rapper in the world and the world shouldn’t revolve around him. However, it’s all about what’s inside the album and not in the outside world.Overall winner: Kanye West’s “Graduation”
There you go folks, Mr. West wins by decision. But you got to give it to 50 Cent though. He knew that Kanye West once stated that his biggest competition in the music business is Justin Timberlake and 50 did his homework and got a track on the album with Justin, just to give his album a chance. Now we wait until the billboard charts will reveal if 50 Cent dominated once again, or if he will forced into early retirement.