Kanye West is the latest artist to fall victim to an album leak. A clean version of “Graduation,” (Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam) which is set for a Sept. 11 release, leaked to the internet Thursday morning. West previewed the album to tastemakers in New York Tuesday night.
The first week sales of “Graduation” has become the center of media storm in the last few weeks as both rapper 50 Cent and West are debuting new albums on the same day. “I came up with the same date,” West told Billboard.biz Aug. 28. “There had to be a fight there.”
While snippets of both 50’s upcoming “Curtis” (Aftermath/Interscope) and “Graduation” are floating around on youtube.com, the album leak may throw a wrench in West’s sales plan.
West’s last album, 2005’s “Late Registration,” sold 860,000 units in its first week, while 50 Cent’s last effort, “The Massacre,” moved 1,141,000 copies in its debut week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
