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50 Cent says there will be no sales showdown with Kanye this year

1:00 p.m. · October 27, 2008 · by Andrew Winistorfer

Remember last year when magazine editors struggled to frame arguably the year’s biggest releases (Kanye’s Graduation and 50 Cent’s Curtis) in a battle between the two MC’s? Well, MTV does, and they asked 50 in a video interview about whether or not there’ll be more of a non-competition between him and Kanye when their new albums drop before Christmas (Kanye’s 808’s and Heartbreak is due out on November 25, while 50’s Before I Self Destruct is due out on December 9). Here’s what 50 had to say:

"There's no comparisons in us as artists. It's the yin and the yang. It's almost the opposite. It was almost taboo in hip-hop for you to make a love record. That was reserved for LL Cool J: 'I Need Love' and 'Luv U Better.' He was the only hip-hop artist that's actually done that, prior to what I see [now] with Kanye. For him to make an entire love album, it's pretty much based on ... love and Auto-Tunes: 808s & Heartbreak. I can't wait to see what this does.”

You could construe that as a dig at Kanye’s new direction, but 50 shouldn’t be laughing: his listening parties don’t get written up, and hisleakedsingles don’t get as much pub as Kanye’s. [MTV via Nahright]