# Curtis (50 Cent album)
**Curtis** is the third studio album by the American rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson, born 1975), released on September 11, 2007 by [Shady Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/shady-records), Aftermath Records, and [Interscope Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/interscope-records).[1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/) It is best known for losing a heavily publicized first-week sales contest against [Kanye West](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanye-west)'s *Graduation*, which was released the same day, and for the retirement pledge 50 Cent made in advance of that contest.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-12-et-rap12-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | September 11, 2007; Shady Records/Aftermath Records/Interscope Records[1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/) |
| Position in catalog | 50 Cent's third studio album, following *Get Rich or Die Tryin'* (2003) and *The Massacre* (2005)[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965) |
| Length and tracks | 55:53; 17 standard tracks, with an 18th bonus track, "I Get Money (Forbes 1,2,3 Remix)", on some editions[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965) • [1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/) |
| Guest appearances | Akon, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger, Young Buck, Mary J. Blige, and Tony Yayo[1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/) |
| First-week US sales | 691,000 copies, against 957,000 for Kanye West's *Graduation* (Nielsen SoundScan)[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/) |
| Chart peak | Number 2 on the Billboard 200; nine weeks in the top 50[5](https://musicchartsarchive.com/albums/50-cent/curtis) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 58 (mixed or average reviews) based on 22 critic reviews; user score of 4.1 from 208 ratings[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/curtis) |
## Background
The album took its title from the rapper's birth name, Curtis Jackson.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965) According to AllMusic critic David Jeffries, two stories framed the release: the sales challenge against Kanye West, and the album's original working title, *Before I Self Destruct*, which Jeffries argued would have misrepresented an album built on 50 Cent's established formula of heavy hooks, macho charisma, controversy, and sly cleverness.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965) The title *Before I Self Destruct* was later used for his fourth studio album, released on November 16, 2009.[7](https://metacritic.com/music/before-i-self-destruct/50-cent/critic-reviews)
By 2007 the commercial context had shifted for the rapper. His first two albums, *Get Rich or Die Tryin'* (2003) and *The Massacre* (2005), had sold almost 20 million copies combined, but the market for recorded music had contracted sharply since then.[8](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2007/07/spin-interview-50-cent-bigger-longer-and-uncut/)
## The sales challenge
In the weeks before release, 50 Cent announced that if his album did not outsell Kanye West's *Graduation* in their first week in stores, he would quit as a solo recording artist.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-12-et-rap12-story.html) The stunt drew wide media coverage and put both rappers on the cover of *Rolling Stone*, posed like boxers at a weigh-in.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-12-et-rap12-story.html) West, whose album had originally been scheduled for later in the summer, moved his release date to September 11 to match.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/)
When Nielsen SoundScan figures arrived, *Graduation* had sold 957,000 copies in its first week against 691,000 for *Curtis*.[2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/) The week was nonetheless a landmark for the chart system: Billboard reported it as the first time since SoundScan tracking began in 1991 that two new albums entered the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 with opening sales above 600,000, surpassing the 1991 debuts of [Guns N' Roses](https://www.edgepedia.org/guns-n-roses)' *Use Your Illusion I* and *Use Your Illusion II* (770,000 and 685,000).[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2007/BB-2007-09-29.pdf) West's total was the highest first-week figure in more than two years, since *The Massacre* opened with 1.1 million copies in March 2005.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-20-wk-albums20-story.html)
50 Cent did not retire. He continued releasing albums, including *Before I Self Destruct* in 2009.[7](https://metacritic.com/music/before-i-self-destruct/50-cent/critic-reviews)
## Music and guests
The album runs 17 tracks on standard editions, from the spoken-word "Intro" to "Touch the Sky" with [Tony Yayo](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-yayo), with an 18th track, the "I Get Money (Forbes 1,2,3 Remix)", appearing on some editions.[1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/) The guest list spans street rap and pop: Akon on "I'll Still Kill", Dr. Dre on "Come & Go", Eminem on "Peep Show", Justin Timberlake and [Timbaland](https://www.edgepedia.org/timbaland) on "Ayo Technology", Robin Thicke on "Follow My Lead", Nicole Scherzinger and [Young Buck](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-buck) on "Fire", and Mary J. Blige on "All of Me".[1](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/)
Reviewers singled out different tracks. Ryan Dombal, a Pitchfork writer since 2005, called "I Get Money" the album's one clear success, an "adrenaline rush" that revived 50's persona for three and a half minutes, while arguing that the Timbaland-produced "Ayo Technology" was the record's only concession to modern pop trends and that 50 fell behind its beat.[11](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10654-curtis/) AllMusic highlighted "I Get Money" as a classic "I run New York" swagger track and noted that Eminem both produced "Peep Show" and contributed a verse.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965) AllMusic also recorded a censorship decision: "Man Down" was censored on every version of the album because of lyrics about killing a police officer.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965)
## Commercial performance
*Curtis* debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and spent nine weeks in the top 50, falling from number 2 to 3 to 9 over its first month before exiting the top 50 in late November 2007.[5](https://musicchartsarchive.com/albums/50-cent/curtis) Cumulative US sales reached 1,336,000 copies by December 2008, according to a Billboard figure compiled by bestsellingalbums.org, and the album was certified gold in France for 75,000 copies.[12](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/370) Both figures sit well below the multi-platinum performance of his first two albums.[8](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2007/07/spin-interview-50-cent-bigger-longer-and-uncut/)
## Critical reception
Professional reviews were mixed. Metacritic assigned a metascore of 58 from 22 critic reviews, distributed as 9 positive, 9 mixed, and 4 negative, and readers scored it 4.1 out of 10 from 208 ratings.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/curtis) The New York Times gave it 80 and described the album as "surprisingly modest", neither as contagious as *Get Rich or Die Tryin'* nor as devious as *The Massacre*.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/curtis) Rolling Stone scored it 70, finding the pop collaborations with Timbaland and [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake) wanting but praising "All of Me", on which [Mary J. Blige](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-j-blige) "steals the show without even trying".[6](https://www.metacritic.com/music/curtis) Pitchfork scored it 49, calling the album "a blatant rehash" and arguing that 50 Cent had sacrificed reinvention for a repeat of his earlier formula.[11](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10654-curtis/) RapReviews rated the album 7.5 out of 10, judging that it would please core fans without reaching the wider audience of his previous efforts.[13](https://www.rapreviews.com/2007/09/50-cent-curtis/)
## Aftermath
The September 2007 release date became a reference point in hip-hop history. Commentators have read the result as a turning point at which melodic, experimental rap demonstrated it could outsell the gangsta-rap formula 50 Cent represented, and the sales figures themselves, 957,000 against 691,000, remain among the most cited first-week numbers of the decade.[14](https://www.papermag.com/kanye-west-dababy) • [2](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/)
## References
1. [Curtis, Shady Records discography](https://www.shadyrecords.com/album/curtis/)
2. [It's Official: Kanye KOs 50, CBS News/AP (September 19, 2007)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-official-kanye-kos-50/)
3. [No more solo albums for 50 Cent?, Los Angeles Times (September 12, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-12-et-rap12-story.html)
4. [Curtis release info and review by David Jeffries, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/curtis-mr0003731965)
5. [Curtis chart history, Music Charts Archive](https://musicchartsarchive.com/albums/50-cent/curtis)
6. [Curtis by 50 Cent, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/curtis)
7. [Before I Self Destruct critic reviews, Metacritic](https://metacritic.com/music/before-i-self-destruct/50-cent/critic-reviews)
8. [The Spin Interview: 50 Cent, SPIN (July 6, 2007)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2007/07/spin-interview-50-cent-bigger-longer-and-uncut/)
9. [Billboard CHARTS issue dated September 29, 2007](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2007/BB-2007-09-29.pdf)
10. [West wins the duel of discs with 50, Los Angeles Times (September 20, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-20-wk-albums20-story.html)
11. [50 Cent: Curtis Album Review by Ryan Dombal, Pitchfork (September 11, 2007)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10654-curtis/)
12. [CURTIS by 50 CENT, Sales & Charts, bestsellingalbums.org](https://bestsellingalbums.org/album/370)
13. [50 Cent :: Curtis, RapReviews (September 11, 2007)](https://www.rapreviews.com/2007/09/50-cent-curtis/)
14. [The Missed Opportunity of Kanye West's Late Album Drop, PAPER Magazine](https://www.papermag.com/kanye-west-dababy)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › East Coast hip hop albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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