On this day, September 11, in hip-hop history...

Kevin Winter, Getty Image
Kevin Winter, Getty Image
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2007: Kanye West and 50 Cent competed in a virtual battle for hip-hop supremacy as the two men's third albums went head-to-head in sales battle on September 11, 2007. After Kanye's third album, Graduation, was pushed ahead from it's initial release date on Sept. 18 to a week earlier on Sept. 11, Kanye found himself in direct competition with 50 Cent's Curtis, which had previously been scheduled for that date. The stage was set for a good old fashioned showdown.

Feeling confident in his grip on the hip-hop world, 50 promised that he would retire if his album sold less in the first week than Kanye's album. On the albums' release date, fans flocked to stores in droves and purchased their album of choice. In the end, Kanye West came ahead as Graduation sold 957,000 to Curtis' 691,000.

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