Rap Battle: Kanye vs. 50 Cent

BY CHARLOTTA JARBORG

You may not be a gold-digger, but by eating your salad and skipping dessert, you could get the man you deserve with the help from Kanye West’s “Work Out Plan.” Then again, you could also celebrate your birthday and take a trip to the candy shop with 50 Cent. At this point, you might ask, why choose? Both options sound like a good time. According to 50 Cent, though, you might just have to. The two hottest hip-hop artists dropped their albums on September 11; causing 50 Cent to announce his retirement from solo work should Kanye sell more records than him.

In his own words, New York Daily News reports that 50 Cent told Sohh.com, “Let’s raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer [perform] music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.” Sohh.com is an extremely popular hip-hop website; the New York Daily News reports that it receives about 4.5 million visitors every month. This turned 50 Cent’s comments into big news fast.

At first, it seemed like 50 Cent might have been worrying about nothing. While Kanye West may rake in the trophies, 50 Cent makes bigger bank than the cardigan-clad MC. West’s latest release “Late Registration” has sold 2.8 million copies, whereas 50 Cent’s debut album has sold almost 8 million. Yet according to 50 in an interview with Carl Chery of Sohh.com, this might be where his weakness lies.
New York Daily News quotes: “They would like to see Kanye West give me a problem, because I’ve worked myself into a space where I’ve become the favorite. Everybody roots [for] the underdog when he goes against the favorite. And 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.”

When talking to students at Mary Washington, the David and Goliath scenario does not seem to have made any impact on whose album they would rather purchase.
“I didn’t even know their albums were coming out on the same day, I had no idea there was any kind of special competition, so I don’t know if I’d choose Kanye over 50 just because he isn’t the favorite,” said  senior Latera Jenkins. “I don’t know, I like them both.”
It seems as if Kanye West may be on the same page. According to the New York Daily News, Kanye West’s interview with reporters at the MTV Music Award nominations on August 7th suggests that the supposed competition between him and 50 Cent is not the main focus of the day their albums drop, “When my album drops and 50’s album drops, you’re going to get a lot of good music at the same time.” New York Daily News also noted that he did not comment on 50 Cent’s challenge.

So how are things going thus far? Going by the charts at the iTunes store, it seems as if 50 Cent might have to look into some property down in Florida if this retirement threat is to be taken seriously. At the moment, on the “Top Songs” chart, Kanye West comes in at number two with his single “Stronger” and 50 does not even make the top ten. When it comes to “Top Albums,” his “Graduation” is at number three, and once again, 50 Cent’s work is notably absent.
On AJ’s Playhouse on San Diego’s 93.3 FM, 50 Cent seemed to change his stance.

“Its not possible for Kanye to beat me, I don’t know why I said that. It’s like the teddy bear vs. the gorilla. Def Jam [West’s label] is going to buy about 200,000 of Kanye’s records. Kanye sucks, I’m going to be honest, he sounds like a robot, he has a robot record.”
It looks like people may be more willing to do the robot than 50 Cent thinks.