Kanye West Vs 50 Cent: Same Differences

Two of hip-hops biggest stars have taken the stage on MTVs Video Music Awards. As the crowd gets drawn into the theatrics, 50 Cent and Kanye West intensely stare at one another as the dramatics surrounding September 11th hits center stage. Both artists on their third album, both on the radar as the few of hip-hops elite and both vying for the attention of best seller of 2007.

Hip-Hop hasnt been in such fervor in a while. There have been little sparks here and there, but the anticipation of 50 Cent/Kanye West has been widely received. From blogs to the front cover of Rolling Stone the hype has been blown up on a positive level. Sure, theyve both had their share of WWE tactics sending subliminal and straight-forward potshots at one another on television, in interviews and during album listening previews. But the duo has done more to put that battery in hip-hops back than a lot of your favorite, so-called, rappers and has done it for quite awhile.

You would say that there couldnt be any similarities between 50 Cent and Kanye West due to their difference in appeal, music and marketing strategies. HipHopDX.com takes a look back at the careers of 50 Cent & Kanye West as they intersect and parallel before we look forward to see the outcome of their sales battle on September 11th.

In early 2001, Kanye West had his name ringing bells in the streets after his stellar production performance with Jay-Zs The Blueprint album. His track record increased in the public eye when news broke that Ye was in a life-threatening car accident. Similarly, 50 was an underground staple in the New York rap scene and had linked up with a legend in the form of Jam Master Jay [R.I.P.]. As Power of the Dollar was gearing up for release through Columbia, Fif was shot nine times by an unnamed assailant right in front of his grandmothers house. With the two already battling uphill struggles for stardom, injuries such as this threatened to shorten not only their time on Earth but their time on the charts. While Jackson was trying to get his shine with "How To Rob" a a track that comically talks about robbing rappers such as Big Pun, DMX and Kanyes boss -- Jay-Z, Ye was building up his star as a producer; crafting out tracks for Roc-A-Fella artists like Beanie Siegel and State Property.

With Power of the Dollar sitting on the shelves, the man known as Curtis Jackson flooded the streets with his mixtapes. The hype surrounding the Queens rhymesayer was so deafening that it was no surprise that Eminem came calling to bring G-Unit to Shady/Aftermath. But while 50 was building up his rap sheet with raps elite, Kanye continued to cook up soul beats for the masses. The Blueprint and its sequel helped to whet the appetite for Kanyes mixture of boom-bap beats and sampled classics from the days of old. But when it came time for Yes time to shine, he did it with the appropriately titled College Dropout. But the streets loved 50. Their distinctions were evident Kanyes mixture of materialistic and realist braggart role and 50s gully general-take no prisoners grabbed the listeners attention and the consumers ate it up.

With the monster successes of Get Rich Or Die Tryin and College Dropout it was only a matter of time that the controversy would come bubbling to the surface. "Jesus Walks" angered the religious community and was praised by the musical society for its brash honesty and realism. Kanyes convictions were rewarded with a 2005 Grammy for Best Rap Song. 50 wasnt no slouch either, Get Rich Or Die Tryin managed to not only be a multiple-platinum selling album, but the world got to see center stage the marketing genius of 50 Cent. The album contained singles, but it was his dominance in the underground mixtape game that led to assent in the pop charts.

The stakes were raised when Late Registration and The Massacre were released in 2005. Sonically different, both Ye and 50 took different approaches with their music. But with both parties being on the worlds stage, it was their personalities that held to captivate the listeners who were patiently waiting to hear their second offerings. 50 was going through a public divorce of sorts with former G-Unit cohort The Game while Kanye was labeling the AIDS epidemic in Africa as a man-made disease placed in African communities. West takes it a step further on Late Registration track with "Crack Music" [which featured The Game] in which he states, How [did] we stop the Black Panthers/Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer

Fif, on the other end, has been a monster at lashing out anyone who has anything to say about him or his G-Unit crew. From "Wanksta" to "Piggy Bank" to "Southside", Jackson isnt afraid to let it be known that he doesnt like you.

On a similar note both Kanye and 50 have had spats within their respective labels. Kanye has commented frequent times about the descent of the Roc and on "Southside" 50 cuts Jimmy Iovine deep. What can be called shrewd marketing has been rewarded with multi-platinum success and awards galore. The ego of both artists have been both their strengths and weaknesses as fans have either loved or hated the duo for their brash talk and self-centered lyrics.

Kanye and 50 do have one thing in common aside from music and money George Bush! After the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina, Ye got on television can said that, George Bush doesnt care about Black people. Meanwhile, 50 likened himself to the Commander-and-Thief, which later backfired as public opinion of president is low as hell!

But all of that leads us to the heavyweight battle

On September 11th, these two artists will be trying to take hip-hop to a higher level. As the mud has been slung on both parts with both guys taking potshots at album listening parties and in interviews the fans ultimately win out in the end by going out to the store and doing something that hasnt been done in quite some time and thats going out to buy some records. As different as their careers may have been on the surface, their parallel is obvious as they both in their own ways represent hip-hop to the fullest. Hate it or love it, Kanye West and 50 Cent have made people fall back in love with the music. Whoever youre rooting for, go out and support with opinion swayed either way about whos going to sell more, Kanye shares some advice he took from his Queens brethren:

50 told me, Go head and switch the style up/and if they, then let em hate and watch the money pile up

Who will come out victorious?