Kanye West vs. 50 Cent Battle: And the Winner is… September 19, 2007
Posted by aeschtunes in 50 Cent, Kanye West, hip-hop, music, sales figures.Tags: 50 Cent, Curtis, Graduation, Kanye West
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To no one’s surprise, Kanye West’s Graduation won the sales battle. According to Nielsen Soundscan, Kanye sold 957,000 copies of his album in its first week of release, while 50 Cent sold 691,000 copies of Curtis.
In a statement to the Associated Press, 50 Cent didn’t address whether or not he would follow through on his threat to retire if Kanye West outsold him.
On the one hand, I’m not surprised that Kanye “won” this battle; however, on the other, I’m actually surprised by how much he sold (and by how much he outsold 50 Cent). And when it comes to 50 Cent’s “retirement,” I’m not going to hold my breath that it’s going to happen… and I’m sure that if you read my earlier entries on this topic, you already knew that.
Is 50 Cent Already Changing His Tune? September 14, 2007
Posted by aeschtunes in 50 Cent, hip-hop, music.Tags: 50 Cent
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According to an article at Hiphopdx, it’s being reported that in an interview today with WWLP in Massachusetts, 50 Cent said he’s not eager to put another album out. He also reportedly said that even if he does put out another album he probably wouldn’t travel to promote it.
And this completely contradicts what he said in the interview yesterday with Hot 97. The cynic in me wants to believe that the more “discouraged” tone he gave to WWLP was just a publicity stunt to try to garner “sympathy” from the public… with the hope that the “sympathy” will garner him more album sales. I just have a hard time believing that he’s felt this way for a while and is only now saying it publicly.
50 Cent Blames Record Label For Second Place Showing September 13, 2007
Posted by aeschtunes in 50 Cent, Interscope Records, hip-hop, music.Tags: 50 Cent, Curtis, Interscope Records
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According to an article at Allhiphop.com, 50 Cent blamed Interscope Records, his record label, for the sales of Curtis, during a September 12 interview with Angie Martinez on Hot 97. 50 Cent claims to be happy with the performance of the album, but unhappy about how Interscope Records handled the promotion for it. He also said he owed one more album to Interscope; after fulfilling that contractual obligation, he plans to leave the label. 50 Cent also went on to declare that he would issue an album every time Def Jam Recordings (Kanye West’s label) had a big release.
This interview proved that 50 Cent’s threats of retiring from the music business if Kanye outsold him was just a publicity stunt for Curtis. Then again, did anyone really believe that 50 would’ve really retired?
But hopefully someone will remind 50 Cent that making these kind of statements (i.e. retiring from the music business) and then not following through on them will only hurt his credibility and his career.
50 Cent vs. Kanye West vs. Kenny Chesney September 13, 2007
Posted by aeschtunes in 50 Cent, Kanye West, Kenny Chesney, hip-hop, music, sales figures.Tags: 50 Cent, Curtis, Graduation, Just Who I Am Poets And Pirates, Kanye West, Kenny Chesney
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As most of us know, Tuesday, September 11 was the sixth anniversary of 9/11… but it also marked the opening day of the “battle” between two rap heavyweights (and a country singer thrown into the mix after he “threw his hat into the ring”).
The opening salvo was marked by 50 Cent declaring that he would retire from the music business if Kanye West’s album outsold his the first week. Of course, the media seized on this, and started hyping this “rap battle.” Not to be outdone, Kenny Chesney, who was also releasing his album that day, had to try to claim that he would outsell both of the rappers. At that point, it became clear that this had evolved from simply being a battle between two rap heavyweights into a ”war of egos.” But one has to wonder: was it really appropriate to have such a “battle” on the anniversary of an event such as 9/11?
As of this writing, it appears that Kanye West is winning this “battle.” So far, Kanye has sold 437,000 copies of Graduation, and 50 Cent has sold 310,000 copies of Curtis. Projections show that Kanye is expected to sell anywhere from 575,000-700,000 copies in the first week, 50 Cent is expected to sell 550,000 copies, and Kenny Chesney’s Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates is expected to sell 400,000-550,000 copies.
So far, it appears that Kanye’s Graduation is on track to be the “winner.” If this indeed comes to pass, does anyone seriously expect 50 Cent to retire? I know I don’t expect it.
But, when all is said and done, which artist will end up selling the most copies over time? Honestly, I believe that, while Kenny Chesney may not win in this week’s ”battle,” he is the artist most likely to have the longevity for the sales of his album.
