Kanye vs. 50

Tomorrow is the start of the first week sales showdown between rappers 50 Cent and Kanye West, both of whom are releasing their third albums, Curtis and Graduation, respectively. 50 Cent told the press he would stop putting out albums if Kanye beat him in first week sales. Let's see how they stack up:

Sales: 50 Cent. Kanye sold 5.8 million copies sold in the US of his first two albums, The College Dropout and Late Registration, compared to the 13 million copies 50 Cent sold of Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. Based solely on past sales, 50 has the advantage here.

Hits: 50 Cent. Kanye's "Gold Digger" is the single biggest hit between them, which spent 10 weeks at #1, but that's far and away Kanye's biggest hit, who, not counting featured appearances, has had only two other top 10's: the current "Stronger" at #2 this week and the #7 hit "All Falls Down." In contrast, 50 Cent has had three #1 singles--"In Da Club," "21 Questions," and "Candy Shop," plus four other top 10s.

Awards: Kanye West. If 50's a rapper for the masses then Kanye's a rapper for the critics, garnering far more awards than 50. 50's had 11 Grammy nominations--all but one in the rap categories--but he's never won. Kanye's won 6 Grammys, spread over rap and R&B categories for both performing and writing, plus he's been nominated in the general albums category twice and record of the year for "Gold Digger.

Current Single: Kanye West. Both artists stalled a bit getting their latest singles on the charts. Kanye's first Graduation single, "Can't Tell Me Nothing," stalled at #62 on the Hot 100, but he's rebounded with "Stronger," currently #2. It took 50 Cent four tries to find a single that appealed to a broad audience; "Ayo Technology" featuring Justin Timberlake is #18 and rising this week.

Verdict: 50 Cent. Personally I like Kanye West better. "Gold Digger" was great, and I'm really into "Stronger" right now. "Ayo Technology" isn't bad, but "Stronger's" better, so personally I would consider buying Kanye's new album, but probably not 50's. However, I think the sales record here is pretty clear, and that's what's at stake. And although Kanye is leading in iTunes presales (#2 right now, vs. #9 for Curtis), once the discs are in stores I bet 50 Cent will be the bigger seller when the Billboard chart is revealed next week.