NEW YORK - It's not like Kanye West needed an ego boost, but here it comes: Sales figures appear to confirm his "Graduation" album outsold 50 Cent's "Curtis" in the much-hyped rap sales showdown.

Although Nielsen SoundScan figures for the albums' first-week sales were to be released Tuesday night, West's label was already proclaiming victory.

But West was hardly rubbing it in 50's face. In fact, he said he was humbled by the apparent win.

"It feels overwhelming," West told The Associated Press, as he walked to Def Jam's offices on Tuesday afternoon. "Everyone is coming up to me and telling me how proud they are of me."

"We're not gloating," Def Jam President Jay-Z told AP. "He's celebrating his win. ... in his mind, he believed he could win the whole time."

Both albums appeared to have sold well over 500,000 copies since being released Sept. 11, but 50's performance was still a considerable letdown. His last album, 2005's "The Massacre," sold 1.1 million in its first week.

Last month, 50 didn't think of West as much of a competitor: "It's great marketing on Def Jam's part, by putting us out there at the same time and make like we can actually be compared on some level," he told The Associated Press. In another interview, he said he would retire if West outsold him.

But while West is enjoying a No. 2 position on the charts with his hit "Stronger," 50 has struggled to connect with radio. None of his songs have matched past smashes like "In Da Club"; even his single "Ayo Technology," featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, is languishing at No. 19.

50's album was originally scheduled to be released in June on Interscope Records, a division of Universal Music Group, but was pushed back to Sept. 11. Soon after, Kanye West, whose album was supposed to come out sometime in late summer, pushed his date to Sept. 11 as well. But Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam, also a division of Universal, says it wasn't initially intended to be a jab at 50.

"The decision was really driven by the (MTV Video Music Awards), because the VMAs were on Sept. 9 ... we wanted to use it as a launching pad again for this album," he said.

West said it was his idea to go directly against 50.

"I was the underdog because I sold less records in the past, so it was a win-win for me," he said. "If I lost, everyone would be happy that I even went up against him. People have this perception of me being arrogant, but would an arrogant person risk the chance of coming in the second spot just to be a part of history? To me, it's more about fans and the entertainment value and good music."

It ended up the music industry version of Ali-Frazier, with the avalanche of pre-fight hype to match. 50 routinely trash-talked West, but it seemed to be in good fun: The pair appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards and BET's "106 & Park" together, and on the cover or Rolling Stone. Both admitted the battle was a great marketing tool.

"The rivalry helped both of them" said Jay-Z. "It was definitely one of those moments in the game that was exciting, everybody could pick a side and weigh in on and have an opinion ... it garnered a lot of attention."

West said the quality of his music was the key reason he apparently prevailed: "I think my music is really inspirational and I really made it for the people. I really understood that in this Internet age people are their own superstars ... the best bet that we had was to make a soundtrack to their own lives."

West said he was especially touched that he had such a groundswell of support given some of the negative media attention he's gotten of late; namely, his meltdown at the VMAs after being shut out (though he poked fun at himself during Sunday's Emmy Awards).

"With all the negativity that the press tries to put on me, this perception that they try to create of me being a really bad person. For so many fans to go out and say, 'We still want to buy Kanye's album,' means a lot to me," he says. "This is a really pivotal moment for me emotionally."

50 Cent, who's planning a tour for his album, was conciliatory: "I am very excited to have participated in one of the biggest album release weeks in the last two years. Collectively, we have sold hundreds of thousands of units in our debut week. This marks a great moment for hip hop music, one that will go down in history.

Whether he would make good on his threat to retire wasn't addressed; Reid said he hoped he wouldn't: "I'd like to see him making music for the next 25 years, he's that talented."

Jay-Z, who is featured on a new 50 Cent remix of his hit "I Get Money," said this setback could actually benefit 50 in the long run.

"The worst thing about success is it makes you complacent. I think when you face any type of adversity it makes you dig deep ... everyone goes through it, all the greats go through it," he said. "In his music, he hadn't gone through any type of adversity. ... he'll come back and make great music."

If so, 50 may end up being a thorn in Def Jam's side. In a recent interview, a miffed 50 threatened to release projects whenever Def Jam had a high-priority release.

In light of West's victory, Jay-Z considered that threat a good thing.

"We would really appreciate that," he quipped. "If he can do that, I will fax over our release dates effective immediately."