Kenny Chesney Takes on Rappers

Rapper 50 Cent has vowed to hang up his solo career if Kanye West outsells him when their new albums are released on September 11, but Kenny Chesney, whose Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates also goes on sale that day, may prove to be a bigger threat.

Kenny says the guys ought to be watching their backs in case he slips by both. "It's funny how with every record that comes out, we're aware of the urban [competition], and none of those acts are aware that I exist — until I have that No. 1 debut on the Top 200," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Kenny's last four studio albums have debuted at No. 1, including his most recent effort, The Road and the Radio, which beat the original soundtrack to 50 Cent's film Get Rich or Die Tryin' when both debuted in November 2005. He also consistently places at or near the top of annual lists of the year's top concert-ticket sellers. So if West and 50 Cent split the rap vote come September 11, Kenny just might be the spoiler.

Kenny says his only complaint is that his fans are getting ignored "because they're not an image the media find sexy. What does bug me is discounting the people who bought my records year in and year out."

Thanks to: CMT.Com