What’s hip-hop without beefs? Biggie versus Tupac, Roxanne Shante versus the Real Roxanne, LL Cool J versus Kool Moe Dee, Drake versus – well, everyone else — are just a few of the most infamous.
But nearly twenty years ago, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and the artist formerly known as Kanye West got into a war of words that would become known as one of the most bogus yet influential beefs in hip-hop history.
In case you need a refresher, the “beef” was born in September 2007 when both artists were prepared to drop their third albums. While 50's “Curtis” was set for a Sept. 11 release, Ye shook up the industry when he moved the release of his “Graduation” from September 18 to September 11 in an effort to solidify himself as a solo artist to be reckoned with.
The two threw some fake shade at each other, with 50 even saying he’d get out of the game if Kanye’s album sold more than his.
“Mine will sell and his will still be on the shelf,” he told Rolling Stone in 2007. “[Kanye] should be terrified. What do I do? Do I send flowers? Do I send my condolences?”
Although both artists’ albums produced bangers, including 50's “I Get Money” and Ye’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” West won the sales war. “Graduation” sold 957,000 copies compared to 691,000 copies of “Curtis.” But at the end of the day, both artists laughed all the way to the bank, and “Graduation” is arguably the Ye album that set him on a path to megastardom, which (arguably) peaked with 2010's “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
Indeed, in true Fif fashion, he told the Irish Examiner in 2005 that he takes responsibility for West’s ascendance.
“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,” he said. “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.”
West told Rolling Stone in 2007 that the competition was just the kind of drama hip-hop needed at the time.
“What’s the point of even having magazines without us?” he said. “We’re the f*ing Jim Morrisons, we’re the f*ng Kurt Cobains of this. Yeah, I said it. Listen to the fucking album – I am.”