By Ryan Broderick

With much of the hype surrounding the Sept. 11 release of both 50 Cent’s “Curtis” and Kanye West’s “Graduation,” it’s hard not to compare the two on a superficial level. In practice, however, it is difficult to compare the two because of the vast differences in the artists’ style and approach. “Curtis” is a sleek, West-coast swaggered, club jam filled with gangster bravado while “Graduation” is a beautiful, and at times awe-inspiring, diary entry.

“Graduation” listens like a photo album. The past reigns king throughout and the album’s major theme and concept is how far West has come and why he’s different than the Kanye West that made “College Dropout.” “Curtis,” on the other hand, chronicles 50 Cent’s claimed dominion over rap and explains why he’ll always be on top.

Both albums contain an intense amount of swagger and confidence, at points reaching megalomaniacal proportions. The key difference between the two though, is that in the case of “Graduation,” there’s an awareness of reality and a sense of growth. The only word for 50’s “Curtis” is masturbatory (and that’s being generous).

“Curtis” gives the first impression that this will be just another rap album. By the fourth track, and a first appearance of the extensive list of guest stars, you realize that this is just another rap album. For all the hype and press, the album begins, flows and ends like an ordinary rap release- which wouldn’t be a terrible quality had “Curtis” not been specifically marketed as something different. In the end, it’s last year’s Christmas present wrapped in new paper with a new bow, claiming to be something life changing.

50’s newest is proof that rap is changing and that he is a dinosaur waving his fist at the meteor. Lyrically, he offers nothing new. Even when he tries to move forward, 50 ends up sticking to the usual gangster repertoire, retracing old clichés long since abandoned or rethought by rappers before him. It’s a frustrating mess. The slick and stylish beat work and production tries to evolve it, but 50 fights every step with juvenile, nonsensical rhymes and boring tired themes that NWA and Dr. Dre articulated much more genuinely a decade ago.

The album is a sixth grader’s version of the novel. You listen and you hear what he was thinking and what it could sound like through the right lens. In the end, all you have is an awkward effort filled with childish, sluggish, illogical rhymes that ultimately mean nothing.

Kanye West’s “Graduation”, on the other hand is wonderfully enjoyable. The lyrics are personable, introspective and feel like breath of fresh air. Every song is imaginative and works as a cinematic landscape for West’s epiphanies. Opting for a more natural feel, the typical snaps, bass hits and snare work are instead replaced by symphonic sounds with atmospheric flourishes…and it works wonderfully.

The album is not without its faults though. Much of it feels like filler and in songs like “Drunk and Hot Girls” which features Mos Def, the listener finds himself wishing the song would end or at least change slightly. “Barry Bonds,” a very bare bones song production wise, is the same way and its flow isn’t strong enough to support the lack of melody.

In tracks like these, one realizes that Kanye West on his own isn’t all that strong-which is a double-edged comment really. Alone, he’s a little boring and slightly bland. But with a strong sound behind him, he takes the listener in like a master actor performing a monologue of which every second must be heard. He uses guest stars to round out a song’s feel, instead of 50’s “Curtis,” which uses guest stars acts as a wobbling crutch.

In the end, West’s “Graduation” stands as a mature cinematic scrapbook, sounding like a Hip Hop “Wonder Years,” leaving 50 Cent’s “Curtis” a tired gangster rap treadmill running in place and mistaking it for growth.

When the sales report comes in later this week, it will decide where the hip-hop world is going-whether a return to gratuitous, cocky chest-beating is on the horizon or if it plans to turn toward more genuine, heartfelt anthems that give a voice to those who need it.

“Curtis” and “Graduation”

50 vs. Kanye