50 Cent recently released his book, Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, and it’s as juicy as you would expect. In it the rapper speaks on the alleged rift between JAY-Z and Kanye West and why he believes Hov has become “disappointed” with his friend Ye.
In the book, Fif shines a light on the highly publicized 2007 chart battle between his Curtis album and Kanye’s Graduation, connecting the album showdown to what he recalls as healthy competition between himself and JAY-Z.
“I salute JAY for a sophisticated strategy,” 50 says of JAY’s transition to become the head of Def Jam. “[Interscope co-founder] Jimmy Iovine might not have cared about beating Kanye, but JAY-Z, who was the head of Def Jam at the time, damn sure cared about beating me. JAY had been extremely uncomfortable with my run in NYC for years. So he did everything under the sun to make sure he could beat me through Kanye.”
Ye ultimately won the battle of the albums that year. “Jay took a lot of pride in Kanye’s victory.” Connecting this assessment to Ye’s more divisive current era, Fif added. “I think that’s one of the reasons he’s so disappointed in Kanye today.”
Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter is now available on multiple platforms worldwide. In it, 50 also speaks on his disappointment in the “unfulfilled” careers of G-Unit alumni Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, and many more topics.