No more solo albums for 50 Cent?

It looks like 50 Cent might be retiring at the ripe old age of 32.

The Queens, N.Y., rapper announced a few weeks ago that if his new album, “Curtis,” did not outsell Kanye West’s new collection, “Graduation,” during their first week in stores that he would call it quits as a solo recording artist.

Well, both albums hit the shelves Tuesday and early results suggest that 50’s sales aren’t as big as his words.

“If 50 is true to his word, we won’t have any more 50 Cent albums,” Carl Mello, a director of buying at the East Coast music retail chain Newbury Comics said Tuesday.

Mello said “Graduation” was outselling “Curtis” by 200 copies at the 27-store chain.

At Amoeba Music in Hollywood, store music buyer Kristen Frederick said: “For every 50 Cent CD we sell, we sell two Kanyes.”

That can’t be pleasant news for 50 Cent, who touched off quite a tempest last month when he told the website SOHH.com: “If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on Sept. 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.”

50 Cent has been locked in feuds through the years, but even he has been candid that this time he was merely stirring the pot. In an interview with KROQ-FM (106.7), for instance, he chuckled when asked if there was any bitterness behind his words.

The stunt has certainly caught the attention of the media and landed 50 Cent and West on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone, which has them posed like glowering heavyweights at a boxing press conference.

50 Cent has history on his side. West, 30, has strong critical acclaim and robust sales, but his numbers have lagged behind 50 Cent’s. West’s 2005 album “Late Registration” sold more than 900,000 copies in its debut week, while 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” topped 1.4 million its first week in stores.

An Amazon.com spokeswoman said the site will be tracking sales for each album via a pie chart on its music page all week. At midday Tuesday, West was outpacing 50 Cent more than 2 to 1.

And the Chicago-bred West was also hitting his “rival” where it hurts, outselling him at key stores in 50 Cent’s hometown.

“It’s probably at 3 to 1, with Kanye outselling 50 with our sales so far,” Carl Alvarez, urban buyer for the Virgin Entertainment Group, said Tuesday. “I anticipated 60% of people picking up both, but we anticipated Kanye selling more.”

Best Buy senior vice president Gary Arnold is hopeful that each rapper will sell in the “half-million-unit” range.

“We’re probably a little stronger on the Kanye side of things, due to our customer base,” Arnold said. “Kanye’s base seems to be a little broader than 50’s base.”