It's official: Kanye West Wins Chart Battle With 50 Cent
Kanye West has beaten rap rival 50 Cent to the top of the charts in one of the most hyped musical battles of the year.
The pair went head-to-head last week when their respective albums were released on the same day -- but West's third offering Graduation has taken the coveted number one position on the U.S. Billboard charts.
Graduation has sold almost one million copies since its release on September 11, making it the best debut of the year so far. 50 Cent -- real name Curtis Jackson -- posted sales of 691,000 for his third album Curtis, landing the rapper in second place.
But West remained gracious in his defeat of the star despite Jackson's claims he would retire if he failed to beat his rival.
West says, "It feels overwhelming. Everyone is coming up to me and telling me how proud they are of me."
Jackson issued the following statement: "I am very excited to have participated in one of the biggest album release weeks in the last two years. Collectively, we have sold hundreds of thousands of units in our debut week. This marks a great moment for hip hop music, one that will go down in history."
And Jackson has still emerged with one small victory over the rapper -- West's first week sales for Graduation may be the biggest debut on the U.S. charts for the last two years, but it failed to beat 50's record of 1.1 million for 2005's The Massacre.
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