Kanye in the Lead

Early projections from Billboard has placed Kanye West in the lead over 50.

Sales data is finalized Sunday at midnight when the Nielsen SoundScan week officially ends, but early indications are that West will be the victor, at least in the first week.

According to executives with three of the major labels, whose job duties include projecting first week scans based on early store sales reports, "Graduation" could come in at the 575,000-700,000 range, while "Curtis" is being projected in the 500,000-600,000 range.

A check with one Northeast urban-oriented store selling both the 50 Cent and West albums found the former outselling the latter seven copies to three copies today. (SOURCE)

Come Monday we will know if 50 is officially retired.