leak of the week

50 Cent’s Album Leaks, Kanye Wins!

Photo: Courtesy of G-Unit/Interscope

50 Cent, Curtis

Official release date: September 11

We think: Of the two major hip-hop releases that leaked today, Curtis is — as expected — the lesser album. Rap-music expert Perez Hilton is theorizing that 50 leaked his album on purpose so he’d be forced to push up its release date, avoiding a head-to-head sales battle with Kanye. That sounds about right. In addition to the five crappy songs that we’d heard before (plus “I Get Money,†which is actually pretty great), there are four serviceable tracks (“All of Me,†“Curtis 187,†“Peep Show,†and “Movin’ On Up) and six duds. Regardless, we’re still rooting for 50 to sell more — somebody needs to declare victory on September 19, and we’re pretty sure Kanye’s not up to it, even if he wins … which we’re pretty sure he will, having heard this stinker.