Don't hold your breath waiting for 50 Cent to retire. Sure, the trash-talking MC may have uttered what seemed like famous last words, vowing to hang up his mike if Kanye West's "Graduation" outsells 50's third album, "Curtis," in their first week of release. Now, just two days after both CDs went on sale -- and a month after his challenge began generating an inescapable din of promotional hype -- Nielsen SoundScan has tallied the albums' early returns, putting West on pace to best 50 by about 125,000 copies by Tuesday.</p> But a closer reading of 50's original invitation to throw down, taken with comments the Queens, N.Y.-born rapper made to The Times just before "Curtis" was released, makes it clear that even if the sum of all of 50 Cent's fears were to materialize, rap fans -- and haters -- haven't likely heard the last from hip-hop's most diss-prone MC. Since August, media scrutiny has focused on only one part of the commitment 50 made on the hip-hop website SOHH.com: "If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on Sept. 11, I'll no longer write music. I'll write music and work with my other artists, but I won't put out any more solo albums." But even with his future solo output seeming to hang in the balance, little attention has been paid to 50's opt-out clause -- his promise to quit only if certain terms and conditions are met. "And I bet this, when Kanye West's sales come in, he's gonna have a 70% decrease [the second week] 'cause Def Jam is gonna buy records to keep him closer to 50 Cent," he continued. "So watch the first week and then watch the second week. Watch his [expletive] drop off the planet. We keep our angles covered before we make a decent bet." In a conversation with The Times, the rapper confirmed that a steep second-week sales drop for "Graduation" is a central part of his challenge. That would be evidence, 50 said, that West's record company Island Def Jam had been using some kind of market manipulation to artificially boost West's first-week numbers. "I think the perception on some levels would be that Kanye West is generating more interest than 50 Cent regardless of actual record sales," 50 said. "He's never had a fraction of the sales 50 Cent has. So when you see him come out and it's like they were close? They could have one scan and have it count four times."</p> [A comparison of the rappers' first week figures tells a different story. West's personal best came in 2005 with opening sales of 860,000 for his album "Late Registration." 50's first-week benchmark is 1.14 million for 2005's "The Massacre."] Billboard magazine's director of charts Geoff Mayfield took some of the air out of 50 Cent's market-rigging theory, explaining that safeguards are in place to prevent the kind of chart manipulations 50 worries about. Moreover, Mayfield said, the scenario he describes would not bolster Island Def Jam's bottom line. "The problem is, you're spending real money to post an artificial sale," Mayfield said. "I don't know of a single instance where someone paid to make an album look bigger and it ended up becoming a bigger hit." Further, 50 Cent says he plans to release another solo CD next year regardless of how "Curtis" stacks up against "Graduation." The rapper has 12 songs in the can he recorded before he challenged West. That album, his final release under his contract with Interscope Records, titled "Before I Self Destruct," is set to hit the streets in 2008. " 'Self Destruct' is the next record," 50 said resolutely. "I'm not sure exactly when it'll be released." As Chuck Creekmur, co-founder and chief executive of Allhiphop.com, sees it, by stoking a fever pitch of public interest in his new album, 50 Cent has already succeeded on his own terms. "Hip-hop has reverted to a World Wrestling Federation scenario -- it's not just about music anymore," Creekmur said. "50 may not be the best rapper, but he's got the dramas and the beefs, and it's a package deal. He understands that it's entertainment on every level. It's like wrestling. It's keeping people interested on every level."</p> http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/...ews-music</p>
Kanye is winning, I admit, I am surprised. I expected 50 haters tobuy Kanye's album just so 50 would retire, but Def Jam buying records to keep Kanye close is pretty crazy.</p> 50 shouldn't have made that promise, but NTC did say he's a business man first. Maybe he intentionally released a 'not so good' album (come on Timberlake is in one of the songs), and made this promise that he would retire because he is planning something bigger?He said he would release one more CD, "Self Destruct," because it's been in development for 8 months already...who the hell does that? Release an album, and on the same day he drops it, he's already talking about the next album. Plus, whoworks on two albums at once? Maybe he wants to lose to Kanye intentionallybecause his next album, "Self Destruct", is going to be better than his first album "Get Rich or Die Tryin"? Then all his fans will be like, 50 we're sorry, come back, we will buy your album. 50 gets a lot of money from the album he works hard on "SD" plus he gets a lot of cash from whatever he throws out next.</p> I don't know, just my theory. 50 should have expected Kanye fans to go out and buy the "Graduation" CD to support him, and people who hated 50 including Murder Inc/Def Jam to buy Kanye's album so that he would retire.</p>
So Def jam are buying Kanye's Album to retire Fiddy?</p> </p> Never going to be short of an ashtray there lol</p>
I think artist on other labels just like to say that about Def Jam...you hear it all the time...it's never really been officially reported from anywhere...at least I haven't seen it. </p> I never took 50's words literally either, just trash talk. </p>
Before I self Destruct was spoce to come out before Curtis, but then with the beef with Cmaeron he put Curtis out. And he has 2 more albums under contract, and he said that he would come out with his Self Destruct, then a greatest hit to fullfil his contract and thats it. But on hot 97 he said if he gets out sold its war against Def Jam and hes gunna drop a CD weather its his or off the Gunit label to fuck with Def Jam sales.</p>
isn't kenny chesney beating out 50?</p> he has GOT to feel like shit knowing a country music dude is outselling him. even if it is kenny chesney.</p>
^ no actually it wasn't close after the first day if i recall correctly ill get the exact numbers and edit</p> </p> as of now Graduation" leads with 781,000 units, followed by "Curtis" with 603,000.</p> </p> West's "Graduation" sold an estimated 437,000 copies during its first day of release Tuesday, ahead of 310,000 for 50 Cent's "Curtis" and 107,000 for country star Kenny Chesney's "Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates," according to a new "Building Chart" devised by tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.</p>
The sales mentioned are only the sales in the US. In terms of worldwide sales, I bet 50 Cent hasoutsold Kanye's by at least 300,000 copies. If that does indeed happen, then 50 has actually won the battle. 50 will probably end up selling more overall anyway once people stop buying the albums in half a years time.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Super Villain)</div><div class='quotemain'>They're going by soundscans numbers...whats on there is what matters when talking about album sales.</div> If Soundscan includes worldwide sales, then it matters. Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense to count sales from just one country. The bet was that 50 could outsell Kanye. Firstly, I don't know why everyone is talking about the first week sales when people should really wait 6 months down the line when both albums stop selling so they can see who truely outsold who. Secondly, the population of the rest of the world is much bigger than just the US, so worldwide sales should count.</p>
Worldwide they are sayin 50 is a 2 million. Not sure about Kanye. I know pretty much everybody is just considering the USA numbers though.
I'm surprised no one heard about Def Jam buying their artists' records. Rumor has it they bought a lot of copies (100,000+) of Jay-Z's Kingdom Come album.</p> After Curtis's deal expires with Interscope I think he said he's going to do some side ventures. </p>
I can't even believe that you are argueing about the fine points here. They both suck, so what difference does it make?</p> </p>
Of course he isnt going to retire, he never was, you'd have to be an idiot to believe he would stay true to that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Return of the Raider)</div><div class='quotemain'> I can't even believe that you are argueing about the fine points here. They both suck, so what difference does it make?</p> </p></div> O_O</p>
