The Kanye-50 Cent Clash: Hey, At Least It’ll Get People Into Record Stores

Kanye West told MTV on Sunday night that he wasn’t moving the planned release date of his forthcoming album Graduation–which just happens to be Sept. 11, the same day that 50 Cent’s long-delayed long-player Curtis is set to be released. In a “rising tide lifts all boats” comment that, at the very least, proves that Kanye will make an excellent politician someday, Kanye said:

“I’d rather come out on a day like that, up against 50 — where people are excited about going to the stores and it’s an event and people talk about it — and be #2 on that day rather than come out and be #1 on a day nobody cares about,” West said. “It’s about things going down in history. It’s not that much exciting stuff in hip-hop right now. I think people are going to make it more than what I’m making it myself. At the end of the day, I’m making music and I’m trying to sell.”

As is Universal–which stands to benefit most from this bit of overlap, since both Graduation (Roc-A-Fella) and Curtis (Aftermath) are on subsidiaries of the labelglomerate. And who knows? Maybe all that consumer frenzy will even help sales of the next Kenna album, which is also set to come out that day (on yet another Universal subsidiary).

Kanye West Says He’s Ready To Pit His Album Against 50 Cent’s: ‘We Ain’t Moving’ [MTV]