50 Cent vs. Kanye West: The Verdict
I tried to think of some funny courtroom analogy tie-in for this blog, but it's late and I just can't be that creative right now. Here's the plain and simple truth: Kanye West has won.
I don't really like the man, as he's got an enormous (and often times unjustified) ego and whines like a little bitch every time he doesn't win something, but I will give credit where credit is due. Kanye's Graduation is far, far superior to 50's Curtis. How superior is the album? And how much more will Kanye's ego grow because of this victory? Here is an artist's rendition:
First, let's look at 50 Cent's latest creation. From the title, I would have guessed that this album would have represented a real maturation and maybe even a very humble offering from 50. Naming an album after your real name, rather than your stage name, signifies to me (and probably most others) that you are stripping away the facade and the veneer and revealing your inner soul.
However, that is not the case here. In fact, 50's third album is probably the least intimate of all of them, containing almost nothing other than macho, tough-guy songs that sound like they were written by a crack dealer. Usually, 50's albums have a couple club bangers and at least one mellow, sincere, romantic (?) track, but you really won't find that here. Instead, you'll get hit with a barrage of gun-and-stripper lyrics, 50 yelling his own name, and some really awful beats. Like really bad - bad sounding and poorly produced. Even the intro track is inane - it's a sound clip from some movie (that I don't recognize) where a couple guys are talking about guns. Really, guns? Talk of guns on a 50 Cent album? Who would have thought that?
That being said, there are a few decent tracks - "Ayo Technology" (the first single featuring Justin Timberlake), "Peep Show", and "Fire" are probably the only tracks that I can tolerate without ripping my ears off. Yes, they are gun-and-stripper songs, but you gotta take what you can get with this album. However, these three are completely nullified by songs like "Straight To The Bank", where 50 raps about pocketing your hard-earned money with a chorus of greedy, money-grubbing laughing. I'm not kidding.
All in all, Curtis is just plain boring. There's nothing new, the songs sound the same, and 50's macho front gets real old real fast. Whoever shot up 50 Cent the first time should go back and finish the job before he puts out any more music.
Now, we move onto Kanye's third album, Graduation. First off, I must say that the college-related album names are getting old (Graduation follows The College Dropout and Late Registration). I can't wait to see the next one. Employment? In Debt? Moving Back Home?
Graduation is much more interesting, dynamic, and complicated than Curtis, which is just how I like it. The instrumentation is very nicely done and quite varied, and Kanye's lyrics, unlike 50's, are usually new and entertaining, rather than a rehash of songs past. For instance, in "Flashing Lights", a song about stardom and the paparazzi, you'll find this fantastic lyrical selection:
Try to hit you with a 'Oeur de Whopee'
Till I get flashed by the paparazzi
Damn, these niggas got me,
I hate these niggas more than the Nazis
That's right - not only did he rhyme "paparazzi" with "Nazis", but he compared celebrity photographers to racist mass murderers. Well, I guess that's about right.
On Graduation, you'll find some interesting tracks, including "Stronger", a single that samples a Daft Punk riff, "Homecoming", a mellow piano-laden piece which features Coldplay, and "Big Brother", which is more or less a serenade and ass kissing of mentor/boss Jay-Z. I'd have to say that "Stronger" impressed me the most, as I've never heard a rap track sample techno. Now that's what gets my juices flowing!
The first half of Graduation is very good, but it fades into mediocrity after that, which is still better than 50's entire album. Overall, Graduation is entertaining, unique, and very easy to listen to, which makes it the complete opposite of Curtis and an easy choice for shoppers in Best Buy who are standing in front of the "New Music" section and only have enough money to buy one album. Actually, if you only have enough money to purchase one album, just listen to Kanye's album over the internet for free and go buy Shock Value by Timbaland instead.
Case closed! (Insert Law & Order duhn-duhn sound here.)
Kyle Wettner is the resident rap and hip-hop correspondent for Blogs N' Roses.
Trackbacks
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9/15/2007 3:06 PM
Blogs N' Roses wrote:
First, I'd like to thank Kyle for his excellent contribution to the site on Thursday night. If you haven't read it, I urge you to click here. Admittedly we here at Blogs N' Roses do not know too much about rap beyond the publicized violence and the overuse of derogatory terms for bitches. We tend to focus on the rock world, despite the fact that rap fans make up a large segment of the internet population. Kyle is our resident rap and hip-hop correspondent and will be given hand goodies by Bob on Thanksgiving.Thanks to Kyles ... -
9/15/2007 3:06 PM
Blogs N' Roses wrote:
First, I'd like to thank Kyle for his excellent contribution to the site on Thursday night. If you haven't read it, I urge you to click here. Admittedly we here at Blogs N' Roses do not know too much about rap beyond the publicized violence and the overuse of derogatory terms for bitches. We tend to focus on the rock world, despite the fact that rap fans make up a large segment of the internet population. Kyle is our resident rap and hip-hop correspondent and will be given hand goodies by Bob on Thanksgiving.Thanks to Kyles ... -
9/15/2007 3:09 PM
Blogs N' Roses wrote:
First, I'd like to thank Kyle for his excellent contribution to the site on Thursday night. If you haven't read it, I urge you to click here. Admittedly we here at Blogs N' Roses do not know too much about rap beyond the publicized violence and the overuse of derogatory terms for bitches. We tend to focus on the rock world, despite the fact that rap fans make up a large segment of the internet population. Kyle is our resident rap and hip-hop correspondent and will be given hand goodies by Bob on Thanksgiving.Thanks to Kyle's ...
Why hasn't this website posted this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ff4FjDQ70I
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50 all da way I GET MONEYYYYY
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hey kyle, i agree with ur album review, i wanna read more of ur reviews, y dnt u start you own site or let a dude know when u post new reviews, its all good! 1
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man who the FUCK is kanye west?!
we all know 50 would have won if all his fans didnt download his songs, if there was no internet download (limewire, emule) then 50 wud have raped kanye's score
i hope 50 still continues his songs sound the best, fuck kanye (even tho some of his songs r cool, 50 is the king)
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yeah but don't you think if people were really that interested in 50 cents songs they wouldn't have to download them from the Internet? oppose to kanye west fans of his actually went out of there way to buy the album instead. that right there speaks volumes.
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Keep on doing it 50 cent. The one and only rapper is 50 cent.
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Whoever shot up 50 Cent the first time should go back and finish the job before he puts out any more music.
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