Fans and the media are waiting to see if 50 Cent will retire after he was thoroughly beaten in his battle with Kanye West for the No. 1 US album spot this week.
In their the stand-off to claim the best-selling album in the US. this week, 50 Cent had previously told the media he would retire from making solo albums if outsold by West, and figures released last night by Neilsen Soundscan reveal he was outsold by almost 300,000 copies.
West's Graduation sold a massive 957,000 copies in its first week of sales while 50 Cent's "Curtis" managed 691,000, according to Billboard.
After losing out on the UK No. 1 over the weekend, 50 Cent cancelled his European tour and a performance at London Mobo Awards and the Vodafone Live Music awards, and it remains to be seen what action he'll take after suffering a second defeat across the U.S.
"It feels overwhelming," West told the Associated Press yesterday. Everyone is coming up to me and telling me how proud they are of me. To be a champion, you've got to take out a champion."
50 Cent added, "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."
