Tim Westwood chats to I Like Music

ILM: Across the pond, there's the new 50 Cent album, Curtis, out September 11th - what's your view on it?

TIM: I'm a tremendous fan of 50. He's defined hip hop for the last five years. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is definitely one of my favourite all time albums. I think in this era, which I think we're going to stay in of rap CDs not selling (they say the CD market is down 16% I think rap is far more hit than that, because people get their music from alternative sources; illegal downloading, myspace and so on) means that this is a very important album coming out right now.

Even though I think it was a marketing ploy releasing on the same day as Kanye West, September 11th, which is an important date in it's own right, I think it really represents the crossroads where maybe rap is at right now: whether it's going to continue with the street rap or what some people would refer to as the gangsta rap of 50 Cent, or the more perhaps inspirational rap and less street storytelling and slightly more intellectual, more thoughtful rap of Kanye West. And I think that's what the situation that we're in right now represents; we're actually at the crossroads of where rap is going to be defined. Whether it's going to be artists like Common, Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco, which are definitely on the side of Kanye, or is it going to continue in the era of 50 Cent, The Game and G Unit? I personally love 50 Cent, I ain't gonna front about that, but I'm also a tremendous fan of Kanye.
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