The feud that cost us 50 Cent

For a guy who prides himself on being one of the toughest dudes in the rap game, 50 Cent… For a guy who prides himself on being one of the toughest dudes in the rap game, 50 Cent sure has been acting like a baby – a baby who got shot nine times.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, or if you somehow think 50 Cent is actually a coin, then this should get you up to speed: Curtis Jackson, the rapper lovingly known as 50 Cent, Fiddy, or that-really-jacked-guy-who-could-kill-you released his new album on Sept. 11. Interestingly enough, so did Kanye West, another big name in the world of hip-hop.

While last Tuesday could’ve been a huge day for both rappers, a day when they clinked glasses of Crystal with their bling-covered arms around each other, riding in their platinum-dipped, shiny-rimmed, diamond-encrusted Escalades all the way to the bank, it was instead a day of competition. Fierce competition.

You see, Kanye West and 50 Cent represent two very different sides of hip-hop. Kanye is of the more refined breed – a socially conscious rapper who rhymes about more than just bling, clubs and the street, maintaining a friendlier image. Not to say that Kanye doesn’t boast – in fact, he’s one of the best in the game at it – but the bottom line is that the guy pops collars, not caps in rivals’ asses.

50 Cent, on the other hand, is more the type of rapper we’ve grown accustomed to. His lyrics speak of gangbanging and money making, detailing the hard life he led and the cash he now gets to spend, all over thumping beats that were made for the club.

Now, each rapper has his perks, as does the rap-style that each represents. But that isn’t the issue here. The issue is that instead of embracing the difference between the two, 50 has begun to talk some trash, and as it turns out, he’s full of garbage. In an August interview with hip-hop website SOHH.com, 50 said: “If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on Sept. 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out anymore solo albums.”

This would’ve been great for Fiddy – a huge ego-boost for one of the most overconfident emcee’s out there. Except, well, Kanye West sold more records than 50 did. Maybe those bullets affected not only his speech but also his judgment. Since last Tuesday, Kanye’s Graduation has sold 957,000 copies, while 50’s Curtis has moved 691,000. Not only that, but trying to find a review that rates Curtis over Graduation is like trying to enjoy a Hinder album – it can’t be done.

Were 50 not shamed enough, he has since gone to press to accuse Kanye’s record label, Def Jam, of buying mass quantities of Graduation in order to push the record past Curtis in sales.

Though I fear for my life, I must say the following to 50 Cent: Grow up, you whiny, annoying wanksta. Even though 50’s album does include a track titled “I’ll Still Kill,” I highly doubt he has the time to come and shoot me in Pittsburgh, so I’ll continue. 50 Cent has bigger fish to fry, like coming to terms with the fact that Kanye West not only outsold him but also doesn’t suck.

So, what does this all mean, not just for the two rappers but for the music world as a whole? Well, in publicly stating that he would retire if Kanye beat him, 50 certainly backed himself into a corner. He spoke with such confidence of his impeding victory just a week ago, even appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine face-to-face with Kanye. And, though his record may eventually surpass the final sales of West, there’s no denying that the reputation of 50 Cent, one of the hardest, most gangster of rappers, will be tarnished. Will he retire? Of course not. Jay-Z said he’d retire after The Black Album and could only stay away for three years.

But, of course, Jay-Z didn’t lose a bet to go into retirement – a bet he told the whole world he wouldn’t lose. Ultimately, 50 Cent must learn from this experience, and there are a few things he could learn.

The first thing is this: Stop talking in third person. Use the word “I” when talking about yourself and it will be much easier to take you seriously. Kanye, the same goes for you.

Next, and more importantly, is that instead of focusing on how there’s no way Kanye could have done it, 50 should fixate on why he didn’t. In other words, he should ignore past sales, ignore the bloated identities of each rapper, and just look at the music. After all, isn’t that what this is all about?

Just about every music critic in the world can’t be wrong – Kanye’s album is simply better than 50’s. West returns with fresh, creative beats and the lyrical bravado and wit that made his first two albums fantastic. What’s more, the album’s been carried by his genius reworking of Daft Punk in the dance floor favorite “Stronger.” 50 Cent, on the other hand, packs his album with the same thuggish rhymes and the same clunky, bass-heavy beats, always trying to recapture the glory that was his masterpiece, “In the Club.”

Of course, it would be silly to think that 50 Cent would agree with me on this one – if he didn’t think his disc was so great, this feud could never have gone down. Here lies my problem with this whole thing: Everyone, especially the rappers themselves, seems to forget that this showdown is about music. This is not a boxing match. This is not a battle of wit and skill. This is an ego war of epic proportions.

Will 50 Cent survive this blow? Sure. He’ll get back on top by making movies, doing whatever it is that he does with G-Unit and planning his eventual, and inevitable, return to music. I mean, hey, whatever doesn’t kill him will just make him “Stronger.”