With Kanye West emerging as the victor in the first week sales battle against 50 Cent, Jay-Z recently praised West for his success and discussed his collaboration with the G-Unit boss in a candid interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"It makes me proud as someone who's watched his growth from the beginning, when he came in as a hungry producer, to now he's a rock star," Hov said about Kanye. "I'm happy for him on that level. And I'm excited for creativity as well, because I think that's a win for that as well. You know, people mimic success. And in order to mimic that success, you have to put in a lot of work. You have to really care about the music."