![]() ![]() “This is a great day for Kanye West and Roc-A-Fella Records and a fantastic day for hip hop and artistry,” said Jay-Z, then president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings (parent company of his Roc-A-Fella label, to which West is signed). In the end, as MTV News put it at the time, West “pounded” 50, posting 957,000 copies of “Graduation” against 691,000 copies of “Curtis,” per Nielsen SoundScan, the industry standard at the time. ![]() During the week, 50 began lashing out at West’s label, Def Jam, claiming (without substantial evidence) that the company was purchasing copies of “Graduation” to boost sales. In an effort to tip the scales, the pair ramped up their efforts that week: West popped up on the Emmy Awards while 50 undertook a “5 Borough Tour” of his hometown of New York City. While sales projections for the two projects had been more or less even in the weeks leading up to the release, West’s lead widened in the days after the albums dropped - remember, the final tally would not be in until a week after release. The two set up early skirmishes by releasing singles to build anticipation for their albums - West dropped two of his biggest songs, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger,” while 50 famously had a meltdown in G-Unit’s Midtown Manhattan offices, throwing his cell phone out the window and ripping a flat-screen TV from the wall, after learning the video for his Robin Thicke collaboration “Follow My Lead” had leaked, weeks before he’d planned to release it. 50 claimed he would retire from making music if West outsold him in the first week, although he later dialed back those remarks. The pair played up the rivalry for all it was worth. To the astonishment of the industry and the delight of fans, the battle was on. Six days later, sources confirmed that “Graduation” shifted from September 18 to September 11. Some two months before release date, the two began squaring off: On July 13, 50’s label Interscope, announced that the release date for “Curtis” had been moved from September 11 from September 4 in order to avoid the Labor Day holiday (this was when most people still bought music in stores). West’s 2005 album, “Late Registration,” had shifted 860,000 units in its first week, but his popularity and influence were soaring. However, “cautious” is not a word that has ever been used to describe Kanye or 50 - who, in 2007, were pretty much kings of the game, with Jay-Z still “retired” at the time and in his last year serving as president/CEO of Kanye’s parent label, Def Jam Records.Īt the time, West was still a rising star, with 50 the sales titan: Even in an era when CD sales were plummeting rapidly and the industry was being gouged by illegal downloading and other forms of piracy, his 2005 album “The Massacre” sold 1.5 million copies in its first week - one of the last albums to reach that million-debut-week milestone. For decades, artists strenuously avoided releasing big albums or singles on the same day. Artists and labels were aware that most fans were only going to spend a certain amount of money per week on music, and forcing them to choose between two new albums on the same day did not make business sense. And a lot more was at stake than would be in a similar battle today.īack in the day, before streaming services became the standard format for music, most fans actually had to pay for individual albums, via CDs, downloads or vinyl. In fact, the 2007 standoff with 50 - which saw both artists’ third albums, West’s “Graduation” and 50’s “Curtis,” dropping on the same day, 9/11 no less - was actually the most elaborate Kanye West release event. In fact, now that he’s ascended to heaven, it’s just about the only way he could build even more anticipation around “Donda,” which he’s already premiered and changed twice. So what’s with the delay? As with most things Kanye, it’s either his perfectionism or simply yet another way to keep fans engaged, interested, frustrated and outraged - envelopes he has been pushing since the beginning of his career nearly 20 years ago.īut industry sources, fans and others have been floating a different theory: That he’s waiting for Drake to announce a release date for his long-delayed new album, “Certified Lover Boy” - which the Canadian rapper has said will be out by the end of the summer - so he can square off against him in a release-date clash of the titans, like he did with 50 Cent almost 14 years ago. ![]()
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