50 Cent And Jay-Z To Go Head To Head?

Rapper 50 Cent is preparing to go head-to-head with Jay-Z - he's reportedly releasing his new album on the same day as the hip-hop heavyweight.

The In Da Club hitmaker has been locked in the studio putting the finishing touches to his fourth studio release, Before I Self Destruct, with his mentors Eminem and Dr. Dre.

But he's setting his sights on a challenge with the Big Pimpin' superstar and according to reports, plans to drop his album on 11 September - the day Jay-Z's long awaited Blueprint 3 is due in stores.

Ironically, 50 released his third album Curtis on the same day in 2007 when he went up against Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella signee Kanye West - and lost.

West's Graduation outsold Curtis by an estimated 266,000 copies in the U.S. to snag the number one spot, while the Stronger star also came out on top in the U.K.