10 Most Memorable Beefs In Rap Music History

While it's true that there was no animosity between these two and their beef erred more on the side of friendly competition, there's no doubt that it still managed to draw in a lot of attention, and provided a masterclass in how to market a sales war to its fullest potential.

It started when Ye decided to change the release date of his third album, Graduation, to 11 September 2007. Coincidentally, the same date 50 Cent was set to release his third album, Curtis. The two then engaged in a trash talking extravaganza, appeared on talk shows together to promote their respective albums, and even faced off in a combat sport style stare-down live on TV.

50 vowed to retire from music if Ye's album outsold his, but their beef was all in good fun, and Ye admitted they even met up and played their albums to each other. "50 said Can't Tell Me Nothing was his favourite song, so I said OK, that's my first single. We push each other."

Ultimately, it was Graduation that came out on top, which signified a shift in the industry, showing that rappers don't need to only rap about drugs, guns, and a gangster lifestyle to be successful in the charts. 50 never did stick to his word and retire, which came as a shock to absolutely no one.