Clash of the Titans: 50 Cent and Kanye West
Heavyweight vs heavyweight. Two of Hip-Hop’s most dominant forces dropped their album on the same day, September 7, 2007. 50 Cent‘s third album, Curtis, was backed by 50’s confidence and coming off the release of The Massacre. Kanye West was also dropping his 3rd album, Graduation, and dropped Late Registration, prior. Both were set to do amazing numbers, then it turned into a competition, one that will be remembered in Hip-Hop history.
The competition would end up being a lighthearted beef, with 50 Cent saying he’ll quit music if Kanye West outsold him. It turned into a publicly displayed competition. Their appearance on Rolling Stone’s magazine cover and taking over 106&Park for “Clash of the Titans”.
Ultimately, Kanye West would outsell 50 Cent in his first week.
Graduation: 956,000 copies sold first week.
Curtis: 691,000 copies sold first week.
The competition helped put Hip-Hop in a higher ranking of pop culture.
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