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Nov. 25 Release Date for Kanye West

Kanye West made a surprise cameo at fellow rapper T.I.’s MySpace-sponsored performance in Los Angeles on Friday, but the real shock came when he announced a Nov. 25 release date for his upcoming album, 808s and Heartbreak. The Def Jam album was slated for a Dec. 16 release date, but West told the audience that he had just arrived in L.A. after wrapping up the album in Hawaii. West then confirmed that “Heartless” would be the album’s second single (“Love Lockdown” was 808s and Heartbreak’s lead single) and launched into a performance of the song.

“Love Lockdown” debuted at a career-best No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold 402,000 digital downloads, according to Nielson Soundscan. The original release date for West’s new album would have positioned the rapper a week behind 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct and thus launched battle of the albums:part two. In Sept. 2007 West’s Graduation and 50’s Curtis were both released on the 11th and West’s album outsold 50’s 957,000 to 691,000 in its debut week.

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