On Saturday night, 50 Cent took a page out of Kanye West’s book and told the crowd at his concert he would be debuting a brand-new song from his upcoming album not via mixtape, not via radio, not via blog, but via live concert performance.

“What I want everybody to do right now is take your cell phones out, get your cameras out,” Fif urged the audience at the Times Union Center. “Tonight, Albany, New York, I’m gonna give y’all an exclusive. I’mma perform my first single off my new album, Before I Self Destruct.”

Then, the bass-heavy beat from Kanye West’s new song, “Love Lockdown,” came thundering through the speakers. Was this a miscue by DJ Whoo Kid? bewildered fans in the crowd wondered. Nope! G-Unit knew exactly what they were doing: 50 began singing the song “I’m not loving you …” clearly mocking Mr. West.

“That’s what y’all are left with,” Fif said, after covering the first verse. He was making reference to the much-ballyhooed SoundScan battle between himself and Kanye just over a year ago, when both MCs released albums on September 11. 50 was soundly thumped in the battle: More than 300,000 more fans favored ‘Ye’s Graduation over the Queens native’s Curtis.

“I’ll forgive y’all for that one,” 50 said.

It seems a Kanye West and 50 Cent second round could very well be on the horizon. 50 said Before I Self Destruct is coming out on December 9, and West’s 808′s & Heartbreak is reportedly slated for a December 16 release date. But we all know how easily in-store dates can change, and even if the releases remain a week apart, it’s going to be intriguing.

On Saturday night, 50 fed a rabid audience with more than 20 songs from his catalog, rocking the stage for close to two hours.

G-Unit featuring Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo started their set with “Rider Pt. 2″ wearing military jackets, and the focus on the group’s latest LP, T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight, continued with records such as “Straight Outta Southside.”

Although the album was considered a commercial flop, the crowd was very familiar with the material and rapped along. Later, 50 took it back with “Candy Shop” and the hard-hitting “I Get Money”; the greenback anthem shook the arena to its foundation.

More hits followed with “P.I.M.P.” (50 brought out a white fedora for that one) and “Gunz Come Out.” The Unit’s attention then steered toward the underground with mixtape cuts like the boldly titled “I F—ed Your Girl.”

“Now, I been here before, but this is Tony’s first time,” 50 began explained to the crowd. “I want y’all to help him out.”

Yayo said, “I want my man to rock with me” and then pulled Flavor Flav, of all people, from the crowd. Whoo Kid dropped “So Seductive” and Flav and Yayo began doing Flav’s signature dance it was a classic moment.

Source: MTV