Andy Woolard, or mouthpiece for hip-hop truth

i pride myself on having my finger on the pulse of urban culture. many of my more suburban friends often call and ask, "Yo, what's the beat on the street?" and i tell them. so, it's only natural that i weigh in on the hip-hop battle of the century/decade/year: Kanye West v. 50 Cent(s). both released albums yesterday. only one can be king of the chartz.

first, the results according to iTunes. Kanye's got the top album. and the top song (Stronger). billboard.com reports Kanye's winning (they also factor in the much-awaited Kenny Chesney release - seriously?). both albums use one word for their titles: Kanye West's Graduation and 50 Cent's Curtis. I'm guessing Curtis is Fiddy's real name? maybe it is French for "not as good as Kanye." but that's about where the similarities end. i realize i'm not Fiddy's target, and am more in line with Kanye's work, but still, homeboy's thrown his hands in the air to "In Da Club" a few times.

watch the video for "Stronger" - it will give you a good idea of the innovation found in the rest of Graduation.


the video is amazing, and shows a great use of 80s sunglasses. i'm not even going to post the link to Fiddy's "Ayo Technology." it's just poor - and perverted. and it features Justin Timberlake (immediate disqualification) and Fiddy following women around with binoculars. but back in the camp of "fantastic" is comedian Zack Galifianakis' video of Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothin'." hilarious.

both albums are filled with guests - from producers to artists - but easily the best guest appearance in this duel is Chris Martin on Kanye's "Homecoming."

you can troll the internets for reviews from "music reviewers" and "journalists," or you can trust this mouthpiece for hip-hop truth and buy "Graduation" right now. then proceed to rock your body. you can listen to a few more tracks at Kanye West's MySpace page and 50 Cent's tunes on his MySpace page.