by Andrew Baker

photo by Rolling Stone

What’s making music news this week?  The head-to-head competition between September 11th new releases from Kanye West and 50 Cent.  If Kanye’s release Graduation outsells 50 Cent’s Curtis, 50 Cent says he’ll throw in the towel and retire from music. 

On the first day of album sales, Graduation sold 437,000 copies while sales of Curtis totaled only 310,000 copies. Projected sales for the end of the week showed 50 Cent as the loser, with Graduation projected to reach 700,000 copies sold and Curtis lagging behind at 500,000 copies. 

Music business pros think it unlikely that 50 Cent will make good on the publicity stunt, even if sales are dismally lower than West. It’s probably safe to assume that he’ll lay low for a few months and then resurface with a new project (not unlike “retired” rapper Eminem who is in the studio now working on a new album).

 More discouraging news for 50 Cent this week: a record producer filed a $2 million lawsuit against 50 Cent, Lil’ Kim, and two record companies.  The producer claims failure to pay royalties regarding a song that he produced, mixed, and engineered with 50 Cent and Lil’ Kim.  The song, “Magic Stick,” was originally slated for release on 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Trying, but ultimately made it’s way to being a hit song on Lil’ Kim’s La Bella Mafia. 

 What effect, if any, is all the drama surrounding rap and hip hop’s  top artists having on its place in the music world? Who knows. Are hip hop sales lower than they could be? Maybe.  Rap music sales declined 21% from 2005 to 2006.  

Maybe it’s time for the artists to stop worrying about publicity stunts to hype albums, who has the most appearances on "Entourage," or who has the most thug appeal. Maybe it’s time to focus again on the music?