The feud between 50 Cent and Kanye West changed hip-hop forever. In 2007, both artists were on top of the world. 50 Cent was arguably the biggest rapper in the world at a time when gangsta rap was dominating the airwaves and cultural consciousness. There were G-Unit video games and Vitamin Water sponsorships, proving he didn’t have to die trying to get rich.
Meanwhile, Ye was challenging the norms of what it meant to be a superstar in hip-hop. He came in the game as a counter to street rap, wearing Ralph Lauren Polos and a backpack, making five beats a day for three summers. Eventually, the two made a spectacle of their stardom and went head-to-head in a sales battle. If 50’s Curtis didn’t sell more albums than Kanye West and Graduation, he claimed he would retire completely.
While 50 put up a good fight, Ye won by a hefty margin. In hindsight, you could pinpoint the exact moment when he won. On this day 19 years ago, he released “Stronger”, the Daft Punk-powered hit song that essentially sealed the victory for the Chicago MC.
Kanye West Changes The Trajectory of His Career After Releasing ‘Stronger’ On This Day in 2007
“Stronger” was initially conceived to compete with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” dominating pop music. In an interview with Lex Fridman, Ye admitted that his fiancée at the time loving the record fueled him to make something just as good. The problem was that the drums didn’t sound the way he wanted them to in order to truly compete with JT and Timbaland. Eventually, Kanye West had to go to the source to get the drums exactly how he wanted them.
With Timbaland’s drums and the power of the Daft Punk “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” sample, “Stronger” became his biggest hit. He peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, signaling that his sales battle with 50 Cent was already in his favor in a big way.
Critics were just as in love with “Stronger” as mainstream audiences. While some writers took exception to Ye’s lyrical acumen on the record, Rolling Stone argued it only complemented the sample.
Additionally, Jayson Greene wrote for Stylus Magazine that it was the most accomplished thing Kanye West had ever done musically. “The good news is in such unfamiliar surroundings, West retains both his confidence and his attention to detail. Kanye has always made headphone records, and this one is no exception,” he said in regard to Graduation as a whole.
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The post On This Day in 2007, Kanye West Released the Single That Proved to Be the Nail in the Coffin in His Feud Against 50 Cent appeared first on VICE.
