50 Cent Beats Kayne West In the First Week Albums Showdown

Everywhere is singing praise for Kanye West for beating 50 cent's ass on the first week album sales. But according to vivendi who owns both rappers' asses, this is rather a different story:

Universal Music Group

The king of rap returns with Curtis

On the same day as Kanye West, another heavyweight in Universal Music Group’s stable of hip-hop artists let loose a new album: Curtis , in record stores on September 11, is 50 Cent’s third release on the Aftermath label. This new album of authentic, no-frills, uncompromising rap from 50 Cent (whose real name is Curtis Jackson) includes guest appearances by some of the biggest names in the business, from Eminem to Dr. Dre and Timbaland.

Curtis has already racked up sales of nearly 2 million in less than a week and appears on track to match the records set by 50 Cent's previous albums, Get Rich or Die Tryin', which sold 11 million copies and became the top-selling record of 2003, and The Massacre , released in 2005 with sales of nearly 8 million.

www.50cent.com
www.aftermathmusic.com
www.umusic.com

You can see the official announcement over at at vivendi's website Or see the screenshot I got for you hust in case vivendi eats its own words.

Tags: entertainment, music, showbiz, News, Hip Hop, 50 Cent, Kanye West, 50 Cent Curtis, Kanye West Graducation

Tags Japan: 芸能, 洋楽, 音楽, entertainment, music, showbiz, 音楽情報, News, Hip Hop, 50 Cent, Kanye West, 50 Cent Curtis, Kanye West Graducation, 50セント, カニエ・ウェスト

SURPRISE!!! 50 Cent CATCHING UP TO Kanye West

September 14, 2007. This morning, MediaTakeOut.com spoke with an Interscope executive who claims that sales of 50 Cent’s Curtis has increased substantially in the last 24 hours. According to the exec, who asked to remain anonymous, Curtis is quickly catching up to Kanye West’s Graduation - and it may surpass it!!

The insider told MediaTakeOut.com, “Graduation had an extremely good first day and has since fallen off. Curtis, on the other hand, keeps getting stronger … I know that Kanye’s camp is already celebrating a victory, but the battle’s not over yet.”

And there may be some truth to what he’s saying. An Amazon.com insider told MediaTakeOut.com that sales of 50 Cent’s album are “stronger than we expected earlier in the week.”

Developing…
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50 Cent's ready to call it a day after album sales defeat

Though he doesn't exactly say it's over 50 Cent certainly wasn't too happy in this interview last night before a Springfield, MA concert on September 11th when he seems likely to have already received early sales figures. Kanye West would have been the same way if the situation were reversed but this really is the most shook I've seen 50 Cent in an interview to date.

He obviously feel burned out and still can't adjust to the fact being outpaced by Kanye West while his first two albums being the best selling rap ablums of the past decade.

MeanWhile check out Kanye West's outburst video after the jump >>>> at MTV Video Music Awards's backstage after MTV let Britney Spears but him opened the show.

Kanye West Kicks 50 cent's Ass on Album Sales

According to outlets like Billboard, Kanye has sold more Graduation so far than 50’s Curtis. The report says that as of Wed afternoon, ‘Ye has sold 437,000, while 50 has sold 310,000 (and country singer Kenny Chesney has sold 107,000). So…the big winner is….

UNIVERSAL! Parent company of both 50 and ‘Ye’s labels! How exciting for the already disgustingly rich European boardmembers of that conglomerate! Now lets all wait for those execs to thank us. I’m sure a touching statement is on the way.

In the meantime….my girl Kimmy at BET sent me the recent 50 Cent interview that she did. Yes, at this point, I think I know enough about 50 to take an educated guess at his social security number, but he does have a unique way of looking at the world…

Read "EXCLUSIVE 50 CENT INTERVIEW: Meet Curtis" after the jump>>>

50 Cent Defends Britney; Attacks Kanye West

50 Cent believes Kanye is just jealous of all the attention Britney has been receiving.

Rapper 50 Cent is attacking Kanye West for criticizing Britney Spears' lackluster performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, insisting the hip-hop star should not take out his anger on the troubled singer.

Kanye recently slammed MTV's decision to let Spears open Sunday's awards ceremony instead of himself, claiming she was "not ready" to make her pop comeback.

But 50 Cent believes Kanye is just jealous of all the attention Spears has been receiving.

He tells Ryan Seacrest: "(West) was upset, he's not used to being recognized. Period.

"Kanye expressed that he felt that Britney shouldn't be actually opening the show - almost like he forgot that Britney Spears sold 50 million records. She did.

"He is not thinking about her full body of work. She deserved to headline the show better than anybody else that was on it - even in the state that she is in."

106 & Park Sep 11 Kanye West & 50's Clash of Titans Video

50 Cent and Kanye West Interview

Fifty is bit mad at the audience. They also played Can’t Tell Me Nothing and I Get Money Remix at the end of the interview, that was pretty good.

50 Cent - Ayo Technology

50 Cent - I Get Money

Kanye West Interview

Kanye West - Champion & Can’t Tell Me Nothing

Kanye West - Good Life

Kanye West - Big Brother & Jay-Z - Encore

50 Cent Blames Interscope for poor "Curtis" sales and will leave the lable after next album

Rapper 50 Cent recently commented on his first week's album sales projections, which estimate that his new album Curtis will move 550-600,000 units, about 200,000 less than Kanye West's new album Graduation.


The two rappers have been engaged in a "feud" over who's album would top the album charts over the past few months.


50 Cent appeared on Angie Martinez' Hot 97 show today (September 12) and blamed the album's second place status on Interscope Records.


"To be honest the process of selling this record hasn't been fun," 50 Cent said. "I'm happy with the performance, but I'm not happy with the set up. We had conference calls and after we created this plan, nobody actually had a plan."


According to first day sales data, Kanye West's Graduation is outselling 50 Cent's Curtis by a ratio of 2 to 1.


50 Cent also issued a warning to Def Jam, claiming he would release a new album every time the label had a big release.


"Hypothetically, if I came in under Kanye West, I would release a new album every time Def Jam had a priority. I would release a record verses every one of their top priorities," 50 Cent said.


50 Cent also said that he was finished with Interscope after the release of his next album, which will fulfill his contractual obligations to the label.


"It was the label," 50 Cent said. "Their dropping the ball all over the place. I'll release my next album and then I'm a free agent."

106 & Park Kanye West & 50's Clash of Titans Includes Surprise Visit By Jay-Z

It was a "Clash of Titans" last night when Kanye West and 50 Cent went head-to-head on BET's "106 & Park Live" to celebrate the releases of their albums, Graduation and Curtis, which both hit stores yesterday. But Kanye may have gotten the edge on the much hyped competition by getting Jay-Z to make a surprise appearance.
After ESPN's Stuart Scott delivered the stats of the "lyrical Superbowl," 50 got things started with a performance of his single, "Ayo Technology." Afterwards, hosts Terrence and Rocsi chatted the G-Unit head up about the rivalry between the two men.

"Kanye doesn't stand a chance," 50 taunted confidently before premiering his newest video, "Follow My Lead," featuring Robin Thicke.

When he wasn't busy hyping up his new album, 50 also took the time to clear up several rumors. Blogs were buzzing last week when the Curtis cover leaked. It features a shirtless 50 cradling a naked, long-haired vixen that looks strikingly like his rumored love-interest, Ciara. However, 50 insisted the resemblance was strictly coincidence.

"The photo packaging was done four months before the video was shot," he laughed.

Fitty wasn't finished yet, however. He gave one lucky audience member the chance to get her own money by having a full minute to grab as much money as possible in a special cash machine filled with up to $50,000. Before the winner headed into the booth, 50 sweetened the pot by handing her $500 to get things started. The winner ultimately walked away with $1300.

50 then got the audience back on its feet by performing his hit single, "I Get Money." But things were far from over. West soon emerged onstage amidst cheers to perform both "Champion" and "Can't Tell Me Nothing" from his new album.

Following his performance, 'Ye addressed his MTV Music Video Awards backstage rant."It was always my dream to open the awards with 'Stronger'...give it to the artists that deserve it," he explained.

When Kanye was asked why he thought fans should pick up his album, he declared, "My album is a time capsule of 2007. My album is the pinnacle of what music is at this time...this is my job to give ya'll the best that I could give ya'll."

After premiering his new video, "Good Life," featuring T-Pain, Kanye pulled out the big guns. During his peformance of "Big Brother," West was joined onstage by none other than Jay-Z and they segued into Jigga's hit "Encore."

Once things calmed down a bit, Terrence and Rocsi sat down with both men to discuss their rivalry. Never one to bite his tongue, 50 taunted Kanye once more, saying, "He brought his big brother with him and his big brother ain't even no competition for me." Adding fuel to the fire, 50 threw up the "Roc" handsign before throwing his hand down and shaking his head "no," causing the audience to erupt into a mixed chorus of boos and cheers.

Both men were able to put their competition aside for a minute when asked to pick their favorite song on the other's album. For Kanye, 50's "I Get Money" was a favorite, while 50 picked West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing."

They went on to reveal what they admired most about the other. "I admire how he overcame adversities," Kanye said. "It was a bit easier for me because I came in wearing Polos, but for him to do that with his style--I admire that."

For 50, it was West's production skills that drew his admiration. "He's a great producer. He can bring different things to the table. I knew production-wise he would be great," he said.

And what would be a "106 & Park Live" episode without a number one video? To celebrate such a momentous event, both men shared the spotlight once more, with a mix of "I Get Money" and "Can't Tell Me Nothing" taking the top spot of the night.

Hip Hop Showdown: 50 Cent's Set to retire

50 Cent has now vowed to retire his solo music career if Kanye West sells more records than him on September 11th. Both artists drop Curtis and Graduation respectfully.

Recently in an interview with SOHH.com 50 Cent said, "Let's raise the stakes," he says.

"If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I'll no longer write music," he said. "I'll write music and work with my other artists, but I won't put out anymore solo albums."

Is this just another one of 50 Cent's publicity stunts? 50, legally known as Curtis Jackson, has always been a big gambler. He bet one million dollars on Floyd Mayweather during his fight with Oscar de la Hoya. Now, 50 will put his entire career on the line for one fight with Kanye West.

Over the past few months 50 Cent has had his album pushed back a few times and released a couple of singles for the album already. 50 has also attempted to get Kanye involved by taking shots at him and attempting to create a competition between the two releases.

The usually blunt Kanye West has not said much about the "competition" with Curtis Jackson, but declined an offer to debate 50 on television on BET.

"What am I going to debate about?" West asked at the MTV Award nominations. "I thought [the debate] was the stupidest thing. When my album drops and Fifty's album drops, you're going to get a lot of good music at the same time."

50 went as far as going after Kanye West's label saying,"I bet this: When Kanye West's sales come in, he's gonna have a 70% decrease cause Def Jam is gonna buy records [the first week] to keep him closer to 50 Cent. So watch the first week and then watch the second week. Watch his ass drop off the planet."

So how will it play out?

If iTune pre-orders are any indication on the so-called battle, it looks like 50 might have to look into retirement.

Despite the fact that they are both getting comparable promotion in a prime spot of the iTunes store, Kanye's pre-order sales are outselling 50 drastically. Kanye's new album, Graduation, shows as #3 on the iTunes Top Albums chart without even being released. His 1st single, Stronger, is #2 on the iTunes Top Songs chart.

Meanwhile, 50's Curtis is behind, but still in the top ten, at #9 with his single featuring Justin Timberlake, Ayo Technology.

50 Cent, Kanye West taking much-hyped sales battle to TV show on day albums are released

Like candidates trying to sway voters on Election Day, rappers Kanye West and 50 Cent will appear on the BET network's "106 & Park" on Tuesday, when both their heavily anticipated albums hit the stores.

West and 50 Cent have hyped the albums as an epic battle of rap titans — 50 Cent has said he would retire if West's "Graduation" outsells his "Curtis" CD in their first week out.

BET is treating the Tuesday-evening event like a top heavyweight fight, even borrowing Stuart Scott from the ESPN sports network to deliver a statistical breakdown of the two rappers.

Both rappers are set to perform, but whether they will engage in a rap battle remains to be seen.

While the two have engaged in plenty of trash-talking in recent weeks, Stephen Hill, an executive vice president at BET, says this clash of hip-hop hotshots is not about bad blood.

"I don't think it's a battle, I think it's a lot of fun. I think Kanye will tell you he moved his date to 50's date to draw this type of attention, to create this marketing opportunity," he said. "We're gonna have fun on Sept. 11, the only place they are going to be together."

Left out of the fun? Country star Kenny Chesney, whose new album is also being released on Tuesday. The country star has put both rappers on notice that he may emerge as the ultimate victor when the week's final tally is released.

Kanye vs 50 cent: a manufactured PR Stunt

Will it be the bear in the funny glasses or the brooding Curtis James Jackson III?

It's being billed as rap's Blur v Oasis moment: two commercial titans of hip-hop, squaring up to release third albums on the same day. But there is both a lot more, and some deal less, than meets the eye about the fact that both Kanye West and 50 Cent are putting their new LPs out on September 11.

For starters, neither artist is releasing their records when originally planned. Kanye's Graduation had been slated for release much later in the year, then brought forward. 50's album, Curtis, was ready to release in early summer, then abruptly delayed to mid-September.

Of course, the pair of them have had words over the years, Fiddy offering backhanded compliments while Kanye sang his contemporary's praises. But both men were really only doing what their audience expects - bravado from one countered with humility from the other. It's no surprise to see which one of them is currently stoking the fires, but this should not be seen as evidence of real animosity (notwithstanding 50's one substantive dig at Kanye). While 50's chest-beating is typical, he has much to prove: his commercial star has dipped since his last LP, and it seems clear that doubts over how successfully Curtis was being promoted played a significant part in the decision to delay the release. Kanye may be more confident, but his new record marks a major sonic departure and may not be as enthusiastically received as his previous LPs.

These, though, are not the only reasons why viewing hip-hop in this reductive "battle of the bands" way is a futile exercise. Rap is fiercely competitive as part of its nature - many artists earned their stripes in the rite of the rap battle, a one-on-one onstage contest where the rapper with the cutest insults and the better quips wins. People steeped in such pugilistic tradition hardly need to demonstrate their prowess against their peers in the aisles of record shops: this really only shows which of them has the more effective marketing campaign, not who has the sharper rhymes or the better beats.

The clearest commentary on this manufactured spat has come, not unsurprisingly, from Jay-Z. The rapper and Def Jam records boss will have been intimately involved in decisions over scheduling Kanye's LP, and his view - that the publicity can only help both artists - is typically shrewd. Rap has suffered from illegal downloading and bootlegging much more than many other genres: if a few hackneyed PR strategies and a whiff of controversy get some extra customers out to buy either or both albums in September, then the industry will be able to congratulate itself on another myth manufactured, another profit margin maintained. There will be no losers in this "battle".

50 Cent thinks that Kanye sucks...

Two weeks before before the official release, Graduation has begun to leak on the internet and it’s not the best move for Kanye West who expects to rival 50 Cent sales figures on Sept, 11.

Yesterday, 50 Cent kept the beef on with Kanye West on AJ’s Playhouse on Channel 933 50 and talk trash about the Rocafella Producer/MC :
"It’s not possible for Kanye to beat me, I don’t know why I said that. Its like the teddy bear vs. the gorilla. Def Jam is going to buy about 200,000 of Kanye’s records." He then went on to say, "Kanye sucks, I’m going to be honest, he sounds like a robot, he has a robot record".

During the Graduation listening session in New York earlier this week, Kanye took some time to remember the audience about his iTunes pre-sales being ahead of 50 Cent’s Curtis.

When somebody in the audience asked him how it felt to perform at Madison Square Garden with T.I., Fifty, Jay-Z and Diddy, Kanye replied that "It would have felt better to be on the stage with me and Jay like we planned."

An he also explained that "If 50 didn’t have the ’I Get Money’ record, I wouldn’t have come out the same day [...] There wouldn’t have been a fight there."
He later also referred to the recent MTV’s hottest rappers list :"Think about the MTV Top 10 — [Top] 7 down list."