Kanye “won” the competition, with Graduation racking up 957,000 units sold in its first week compared to 50 Cent’s still-impressive 691,000. The lead-up was filled with all of the hype of a congressional race, with photo-ops and bold pronouncements.Īt one point, 50 claimed that he’d retire if Kanye outsold him in the first week, later modifying his statement. The “rivalry” was marketed as a referendum on who would be the face of popular rap music moving forward. Months before, Def Jam Records had decided to move up West’s release date in order to directly “compete” with 50 Cent, then an unstoppable sales juggernaut. The hype leading up to this release date was something that rap music hasn’t seen since.
50 Cent was set to drop Curtis, his fourth effort, and Kanye was preparing to release his third album, Graduation. It was Sunday, September 9th, less than 48 hours before the release date of both artists’ newest albums. West stood on his toes so he could look 50 eye-to-eye. 50 Cent was clad in a jacket and jeans, while Kanye was wearing a tux and sneakers.
50 Cent and stood on stage at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, face-to-face, ice-grilling each other. Happy 10th Anniversary to Kanye West’s third studio album Graduation, originally released September 11, 2007.
