Welcome to the good life. If it’s anything like Kanye described, it’s pretty sweet. If it feels anything like a summer day in the “Chi,” it’s definitely hot, but the icing on the cake must be the swift knockout in sales Graduation gave 50 Cent’s album, Curtis.
Before the dukes went up Sept. 11, the two rap veterans shared TV appearances and even the Rolling Stones magazine cover. Since both artists have egos as big as their bank accounts, it would be pretty difficult to imagine them putting up with one another in the same room. Both Kanye and 50 have been causing a lot of buzz with multiple singles over the radio, so who could really come out on top on the drop date?
If the contest was being judged solely on artistic vision rather than Soundscan tallies, West could certainly claim a landslide victory. Graduation blends a different set of musical influences than West’s past two efforts, 2004’s The College Dropout and 2005’s Late Registration. Drawing from Daft Punk and Coldplay to fast, back-porch soul and ’80s disco rhythms, Graduation still sounds like a logical step forward. Curtis sounds like 50 is standing in place, with the familiar bruising bass lines and slick, digi-heavy productions that have transformed the former drug dealer into one of the top-selling recording artists of any genre.
Too bad the name of this game is sales. 50 blatantly showed no sign of lowering his guard in any of his unhesitant gestures. In an interview on 97.9 the Box, the usually hard core rapper showed his comical side in reference to a top ten list of the “best” rappers currently. “Who the h*** let him be number one, ” he yelled when he heard Lil’ Wayne scrimmaged his way to the top of the list. “This guy sells no records. What was his last single? (After a long silent pause) That’s what I thought,” 50 went on to say. Like it or not, in his eyes he is just as pertinent as any record label when it comes to record sales.
If we had attempted to predict this outcome via previous sales, 50 would’ve destroyed West. 50’s last album, The Massacre, sold more than a million copies during the first week and West’s Late Registration sold around 900,000. There’s an even more pronounced sales difference between the combatant’s debut releases.
But Kanye is proving to be a hard push over this week. His perpetual image and the new animation of the original College Dropout Bear, there is no way he can be ignored.
Even though both albums have eaten very well, Kanye is leading, as he has from day one, by some 178,000 copies by a report on Friday. Graduation has sold 781,000 copies and Curtis has sold 603,000.
The official numbers on Wednesday will come and go, but the week event in itself will be remembered in hip hop. It is here. It is selling. Bottom line.