Tomorrow, Kanye West and 50 Cent, arguably two of hip-hop’s biggest players, are dropping their third albums on the same day. Let the egocentric rap battle begin. Cocky 50 claims that “mine will sell and his will be on the shelf,” and he even vowed to stop releasing solo albums if he doesn’t sell more than Kanye! The problem for 50 is, equally arrogant Kanye is becoming stronger every day already. So how did all the drama begin? Who will sell more? And who is the better artist? The answer to these questions is clearer than Cristal.
To understand the building drama, let’s start from the beginning. First of all, don’t take the hype seriously. Kanye and 50 are just trying to gain attention, saying things like they are the Kurt Cobains and Jim Morrisons of this era. 50 claiming to quit rapping if he doesn’t sell more than Kanye, is all just publicity stunt. 50 and Kanye are friends pushing each other as artists and are essentially being outrageous just to stay in the limelight. They do so in an effort to sell more albums and make more money to buy more ostentatious designer outfits (Kanye) and hire more personal nutritionists to travel with them (50).
With the hype equally built up on both sides, who will sell more albums? Well, when stacked up next to each other, it’s apparent there is no contest. Here’s where they both stand: 50’s single “AYO Technology” hit No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and his album presale ranking on iTunes is currently No. 23. Kanye’s single “Stronger,” on the other hand, is at No. six on the Billboard Hot 100 and his album’s presale ranking on iTunes is sitting at No. 11. But 50 still has sold over 11 million albums while Kanye has only sold 6 million. But, due to Kanye’s current success, he just might eclipse 50 Cents’ past success. One fact in the music industry is that album sales do not directly correlate to artistic quality, so who is the better artist you ask?
On 50’s upcoming release “Curtis,” he teams himself with the usual played-out stars like Akon, Dr. Dre and Eminem. After many failed attempts to release a hit single for his album “Curtis,” he needed the help of the superhero team of Justin Timberlake and Timbaland just to land a hit single. With those two on your side, how can you not have a hit? Throw in some lyrics about girls on poles and more F-bombs than “Superbad” and you have an unoriginal, vitaminwater- fueled gangsta album that is “Curtis.”
50 is all about becoming a movie-star/celebrity, while Kanye focuses on becoming a great artist, armed with socially-conscious lyrics. The fact that he produced almost all of his songs, sampling beats from Daft Punk, Steely Dan and German art rockers, proving he is just that. And instead of teaming up with generic rap stars, he features Coldplay’s Chris Martin, John Mayer and Mos Def on his album. When stacked head-to-head in artistic quality, it appears 50 Cent isn’t worth a dime anymore.
Most retailers and interviews choose Kanye over 50, so while Kanye continues to touch the sky and graduate to another level, 50 just might find himself sitting on the charts at No. 2 with a bullet, which might just hurt more than his other nine bullets combined. If things continue the way they are forecasted, 50 might just find himself not in “da club” anymore, but rather, in “da poorhouse,” breaking his piggy bank for spare change.
But at least he’s got plenty of vitaminwater.
Hoostal is a junior political science major and a columnist for The Spectator
