50 Cent Felt He Was Responsible for Kanye West’s Career Success
50 Cent and his hip-hop contemporary Kanye West once had a little competition with each other. And 50 Cent believed that competition ultimately helped propel West’s music career.
How 50 Cent felt he inspired fans to gravitate to Kanye West’s music
50 Cent and West famously tried to outdo one another’s albums back in the day. In September 11, 2007, 50 Cent was gearing up to release his third studio album Curtis. On the same date, West was readying to release his own 3rd album Graduation.
Initially, West was supposed to release the record on September 18, but he’d change its schedule to accommodate the rivalry. Unlike 50 Cent’s other feuds with rappers like Ja Rule, his rivalry with West wasn’t a personal one. The business mogul saw the rivalry as a great opportunity to make history.
“That was something that we created,” 50 Cent once told XXL (via Fuse). “Obviously, it riled the fans up in every way and the results are always bigger sales than usual. Both of the numbers were bigger than what they would have been [otherwise].”
50 Cent even raised the stakes by claiming he’d retire from putting out solo music if he lost. Although he admitted this was also a marketing ploy, and he had no intention of leaving music behind.
West ended up victorious in the feud, but both seemed to walk away as winners. West’s album sold 957,000 copies the first week, whereas Curtis sold 691,000 copies. The records broken by the two albums proved their publicity stunt was effective.
However, 50 Cent felt his influence on West’s career wasn’t just limited to their album sales. Rather, the “In Da Club” rapper believed his aggressive content made music listeners look for a safer alternative to gangster hip hop.
“I feel like Kanye West is successful because of me. After 50 Cent, (hip-hop fans) was looking for something non-confrontational, and they went after the first thing that came along,” 50 Cent once said according to Irish Examiner. “That was Kanye West, and his record took off. He puts together witty phrases and he’s a great talent as a producer, but I still don’t know who Kanye West is when I listen to him.”
What Kanye West thought of his and 50 Cent’s rivalry
West looked back on his competition with 50 Cent very fondly. The Grammy winner agreed that they brought the best out of each other. But the marketing wasn’t just good for their careers, but also hip hop as a whole.
“It’s real good for hip-hop. We’re really pushing each other. If 50 wasn’t dropping that day, I wouldn’t have went so hard on my album. If I wasn’t dropping he wouldn’t have went so hard,” West once said on TimWestwood TV. “In the past couple years, people have been dropping stuff aimlessly with no direct competition. To put us up against each other, regardless of who sells the most, I think fans are getting better albums because of it.”
West also asserted he wouldn’t let egos disrupt the true purpose of the competition. By doing so, West took a very ‘may the better man win’ approach to their music.
“I could play into the hype, but on some real reality stuff if 50 Cent can make an album that’s better than mine, or if he can sell more albums than me, that’s the best thing for hip-hop,” West said. “Because I know that I’m gonna make an album that should sell a lot and I know that I’m gonna make a classic album… It’s not a thing like, ‘Oh man, I gotta outdo 50.’”
