Latest Hip Hop News Blog, Rap Beefs, Hip Hop, Urban & Rap Blog

NEW YORK - It’s not like Kanye West needed an ego boost, but here it comes: Sales figures appear to confirm his “Graduation” album outsold 50 Cent’s “Curtis” in the much-hyped rap sales showdown.

Although Nielsen SoundScan figures for the albums’ first-week sales were to be released Tuesday night, West’s label was already proclaiming victory — although Def Jam president Jay-Z was careful not to rub it in.

“We’re not gloating,” Jay-Z told The Associated Press. “He’s celebrating his win. … in his mind, he believed he could win the whole time.”

Both albums appeared to have sold well over 500,000 copies since being released Sept. 11, but 50’s performance was still a considerable letdown. His last album, 2005’s “The Massacre,” sold 1.1 million in its first week.

Last month, 50 didn’t think of West as much of a competitor: “It’s great marketing on Def Jam’s part, by putting us out there at the same time and make like we can actually be compared on some level,” he told The Associated Press. In another interview, he said he would retire if West outsold him.

But while West is enjoying a No. 2 position on the charts with his hit “Stronger,” 50 has struggled to connect with radio. None of his songs have matched past smashes like “In Da Club”; even his single “Ayo Technology,” featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is languishing at No. 19.

50’s album was originally due to be released in June on Interscope Records, a division of Universal Music Group, but was pushed back to Sept. 11. Soon after, Kanye West, whose album was supposed to come out sometime in late summer, pushed his date to Sept. 11 as well. But Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam, also a division of Universal, says it wasn’t initially intended to be a jab at 50.

“The decision was really driven by the (MTV Video Music Awards), because the VMAs were on Sept. 9 … we wanted to use it as a launching pad again for this album,” he said.

Once they realized 50 was scheduled to release his album on Sept. 11 as well, Reid asked West if he wanted to push his album so it wouldn’t compete. But West was up for the challenge.

“Only after that did it become a competitive thing,” he said. “It was never intended to be a gimmick.”

It ended up the music industry version of Ali-Frazier, with the avalanche of pre-fight hype to match. 50 routinely trash-talked West, but it seemed to be in good fun: The pair appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards and BET’s “106 & Park” together, and on the cover or Rolling Stone. Both admitted the battle was a great marketing tool.

“The rivalry helped both of them” said Jay-Z. “It was definitely one of those moments in the game that was exciting, everybody could pick a side and weigh in on and have an opinion … it garnered a lot of attention.”

50 Cent didn’t immediately release a statement about his apparent loss. Whether he would make good on his threat to retire was unclear; Reid said he hoped he wouldn’t.

“I would like to think that nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “I’d like to see him making music for the next 25 years, he’s that talented.”

Jay-Z, who is featured on a new 50 Cent remix of his hit “I Get Money,” said this setback could actually benefit 50 in the long run.

“The worst thing about success is it makes you complacent. I think when you face any type of adversity it makes you dig deep … everyone goes through it, all the greats go through it,” he said. “In his music, he hadn’t gone through any type of adversity. … he’ll come back and make great music.”

If so, 50 may end up being a thorn in Def Jam’s side. In a recent interview, a miffed 50 threatened to release projects whenever Def Jam had a high-priority release.

In light of West’s victory, Jay-Z considered that threat a good thing.

“We would really appreciate that,” he quipped. “If he can do that, I will fax over our release dates effective immediately.”