Sexual Eruption

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" were to outsell 50's third album, "Curtis," in their first week of release. Now, just days after both CDs went on sale -- and a month after his challenge began generating a 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.
But a closer reading of 50's original invitation to throw down, taken with comments the Queens, N.Y.-born rapper made in an interview with 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 -- probably haven't 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 . . . 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."

In fact, 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.

Further, 50 Cent says he plans to release another solo CD next year. 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 due in 2008.

http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl...?coll=cl-music

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if you don't know by now... Doggy Dogg is a freeeaaaak freeeeaaak freeeaaaak /tpain Snoop Dogg

tight2def

oh please, if they wanna rig they can rig
COP CURTISSS

ez4menyou

i think he will release another album this year if not a g unit album

SOLJIFIRE

lol trhat true let seee west 2week u know it be like 33

bangoutblood

i dont understand with the fuck is up with the dickryders,groupies and stans

first some of yall say 50 will smash west the first day

then yall say ok not the first day but 50 will destroy west at the end of the week

then yall say the only reason why west is ahead is cause def jam bought 200'000 copies

well it aint true what you gonna tell me now

we will see at the end of the week or next month

eat a dick and drop it please its sad

T.Giddy

I prefer 50's album more but Stronger was a bigger hit than Ayo Tech which is probably what helped him sell more

Buck_Da_World

propz nigga hope 50 do sell more kanye is wack

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A hood nigga commin up, new year another truck, I aint worried bout dem runnin up, I got heat on my hip, dat will tear ya stomach up, I got heat on my hip
[IMG][/IMG]

NEWSKULL

Lol... 50 Is Just An Attention Whore...

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DAVID BROWN CLOTHING

keepitgangsta

i Think If Def Jam Didnt Buy A Lot

Game, Fat Joe, Terror Squad

All Them Niggas 50 Got Problems With. I Think They Bought Hella Copies Of Graduation To Make 50 Cent Lose

I Think Their Street Team All Piched In

I Think Even The Haters(fans), Was Out Buying Hella Copies Of Graduation And Didnt Even Listen To The Cd

I Think Everybody Piched In, To Make 50 Cent Lose

Am I Lying?

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SP3unit

WHERE DID UR LEECHING ASS GET OUT FROM?

Hakaroodi

Curtis is a better album than Graduation.. Kanye dropped the right singles... 50 kinda fucked up with his singles.. i ain't hatin' i'ma huge 50 fan.. but he dan't really dop anything sick until I Get Money.. but that was a lil too late for the first week sales...

just watch the second week man.. i ain dickrydin' or nothin.. jus watch.. if there is a huge decrease in Kanyeezi's sales.. then fuck Def Jam for not making it a fair competition... if it ain't and Kanye's consistent.. then aight i give him his props...

WAIST_DEEP

damn why did i have to read this while bumpin smile am leavin,lol fif dont seem too havew that much buzz for week 2.mainly cuz i get money remix hasnt dropped yet,so atm it cud be close again

keepitgangsta

hellllllllllll noooooooooooooooo

this weekend was 50 weekend

that nigga has been everywhere

he been on all on mtv, bet, he did the 5 boro tour this weekend

which helped him at the end of the first week, towards this week

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WAIST_DEEP

yea ok i agree ....i juss wanna hear that remix sooooo bad

unitymama

He better not retire at all!!!!!!....

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50's dick feels so good in my candyshop mmm!!!!!

jas_311

I'm no hater and i dont want 50 to give it up either but u lame as hell if think curtis was a good album. I know plenty unsigned niggas right now that could make a much better album than that.

$STAT$

Me to bro. I think if 50 didnt have so many enemies dude woulda outsold Kanye by 3 to 1. I think all Game, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Def Jam ect bought alot of albums just to see 50 fall for once.

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jas_311

i mean i used to bump that get rich or die trying all night. Even a couple tracks on massacre. But curtis is sooooo commercial i cant even believe 50 stands behind it

jas_311

Niggas in denial. curtis sucks and it aint nobody eles fault but his.

savageassnigga

curtis is just a practice album cause BISD is his last and he saved the best
for last thats just my opinion