Rapper 50 Cent exemplifies the concept that hip-hop is more than just a musical genre. For years he reigned supreme on the underground mix-tape circuit, but he didn’t get widespread attention until 2002, when his debut single, “Wanksta,” was used on the soundtrack of the film 8 Mile.
In 2003, 50 Cent released his first studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which quickly became a commercial success. Thus, the young rapper’s life became a rolling tabloid scandal. 50 Cent was the real deal, not a “studio gangsta” (an artist who fabricates stories of drugs, violence, and murder to sell songs).
He was inspired to write music by his life on the streets of New York City, where he was shot nine times yet survived. That’s why some are saying 50 Cent is going to be the next hip-hop heavyweight; they’re noticing a darker edge to his music because of it.
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Contents
Life of a drug dealer
50 Cent, whose given name is Curtis Jackson, was raised in the South Jamaica section of the New York City borough of Queens. It’s a rough area that’s full of gang violence, but it’s also where many famous rappers got their starts, such as LL Cool J (1968-) and the girl group Salt N’ Pepa.
Fifty Cent was born into a world full of danger. When he was born on July 6, 1976, his mother, Sabrina Jackson, was just fifteen years old. With no other means of providing for her son, she turned to drug peddling and quickly rose to prominence as one of the city’s most infamous criminals. When her kid was just eight years old, Sabrina was murdered, possibly as a result of a drug war.
Fifty Cent’s grandma was a loving figure in his life, and he credits her with helping him thrive. The boy would have spent less time on the streets if she hadn’t had nine other kids to care for. Selling crack, a highly potent type of cocaine that is smoked, by the time he was twelve.
50 Cent told Allison Samuels of Newsweek that he had to fend for himself since he didn’t want to put undue pressure on his grandmother: “I didn’t want to ask her for a pair of Air Jordans when I knew she couldn’t afford them, so I began working to obtain my stuff and not stress her out.”
“How great you are will ultimately be determined by the challenges you face and conquer.”
50 Cent got his first gun when he was 15, and by the time he was 19, he was the local drug lord, making $150,000 a month. After dropping out of high school, 50 Cent spent most of his time in jail, where he listened to his favorite rappers like KRS-1, Rakim, and Run-DMC and experimented with creating his rap lyrics. He had always wanted to make it big in the music industry, but he wasn’t sure if he should. 50 Cent realized it was time for a change when his son Marquise was born, so he gave up drug selling and began a career in music instead.
Eminem: Unlikely Hip-Hop Hero
Of all the music industry’s A-listers, Eminem is certainly one of the most divisive. His CDs are being boycotted by women’s groups and gay and lesbian organizations, and his public rants against his mother, ex-wife, fellow musicians, and fans are making headlines. But white Detroit rapper Eminem has amassed a huge cult following. He has also been lauded for breathing new life into a tired genre.
Marshal Bruce Mathers III (aka Eminem) was born on October 17, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his mom, Debbie Mathers-Briggs, spent their childhood between St. Louis and Detroit. The family finally settled in the east side of Detroit when he was twelve years old. Because of the family’s frequent relocations, Mathers had trouble making friends and instead spent his time engrossed in the media.
In addition, he began listening to rap music and eventually began composing raps in the style of his favorite artists, such as LL Cool J and 2 Live Crew. By his senior year of high school, Mathers was neglecting his studies in favor of practicing his musical talents. He was unable to pass the ninth grade and left Osbourne High School.
Throughout the following few years, Mathers put in his time and effort, producing indie CDs until he caught the attention of seasoned rapper Dr. Dre. Marshall Mathers, better known by his stage name Eminem and his debut album’s name, Slim Shady, was introduced to the world by Dr. Dre in 1998.
His music was brash, featuring themes like rape, gun violence, and drug abuse. Mathers directed his anger towards his ex-wife Kim and his mother, whom he held responsible for his difficult upbringing. Millions of people bought his music and went to his performances, regardless of whether critics liked him or not and regardless of whether parents protested.
This was followed by The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show, all of which were released after the Slim Shady CD (2002). Both were certified multi-platinum and won multiple Grammys. The Eminem Show, released in 2003, was crowned the year’s best rap album with a Grammy Award. In the same year that “Lose Yourself” featured on the 8 Mile soundtrack, Mathers won an Academy Award for Best Original Song (2002). Mathers co-starred in the film as Jimmy Smith, a want to be a rapper who faces off against the gangs of Detroit. Because he came from the same rough neighborhood as Smith before becoming a legendary figure in the hip-hop scene, Eminem was quite familiar with the figure.
Learns from the master
50 Cent met Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), a member of the groundbreaking rap group Run-DMC, in 1996 thanks a mutual friend. Jay grew up in the same area as the burgeoning rapper, and he recognized talent in him. 50 Cent began taking lessons from the veteran artist quickly. He was very patient with me,” 50 Cent told Time’s Josh Tyrangiel. “I’d come in with what amounted to free verse rhymes, and he’d tell me that they needed to be arranged so that they fit into 16 bars of music. As soon as he said it, I understood.” Since 1997, when they first met, 50 Cent has been heavily promoted thanks to Jam Master Jay’s production deal and promotion. 50 Cent’s music was gritty and real, with lyrics based on his experiences in the streets. It “resounded with authenticity,” as Evan Serpick of Entertainment Weekly put it.
It didn’t take long for Fifty Cent to become a phenomenon in the rap underground. This indicates that he was operating outside of the purview of any major record label. The result was that major record labels took notice of the formerly nefarious rapper. There are rumors that 50 Cent was given a $65,000 advance by Columbia Records when he joined the label in 1999. Despite being a legitimate musician with a record deal, 50 Cent had no money since Jam Master Jay earned $50,000 and attorneys grabbed the rest. He continued to sell drugs as his “day job” so that he could support himself and his family.
When Columbia signed 50 Cent, they were at a loss as to how to best utilize his talents. 50 Cent, impatient to get his hands on his first official album, recorded a cover of “How to Rob” on his own time. The single was an effort to catch the attention of his record company. According to what 50 Cent told Serpick, “I needed people to stop and stare at me.”
Because 50 Cent lays out his strategy to “rip off” every hip-hop star out there, “How to Rob” caught the attention of Columbia and the rest of the music industry. 50 Cent threatened to rob Boyz II Men in the style of Michael Bivens and Catch Tyson for half of their money. 50 Cent’s song was used on the soundtrack for the 1999 film In Too Deep, but other than that, Columbia did not do anything to promote its talent.
50 Cent’s life on the streets finally caught up to him in May of that year. An automobile pulled up when 50 Cent was sitting in a friend’s car in front of his grandmother’s house, and the driver began firing shots at him. He took nine shots to the body, including one to the head and one that shattered his hip. Despite 50 Cent’s miraculous recovery, Columbia Records decided to dismiss him from the label. The rapper, ever upbeat, went back out on the mixed tape circuit.
A fan of Slim Shady
50 Cent’s breakthrough single, “Wanksta,” was written by him in 2002. The upbeat party song “Wanksta” was a scathing diss track directed at 50 Cent’s mortal nemesis, fellow rapper Ja Rule (1976–). In 1999, Ja Rule was robbed and suspected 50 Cent of being involved. This sparked a dispute between the two rappers. You say you a gangsta but you never copped anything/You say you a wanksta and you need to stop frontin’, 50 Cent raps about his adversary.
Fifty Cent gave Paul Rosenberg, the manager of current superstar rapper Eminem, copies of “Wanksta” and a few of his other songs (1972–). The two were reunited in Los Angeles when Eminem called 50 Cent and invited him to visit. Eminem’s record label, Shady/Aftermath Records, signed its first rapper, 50 Cent, in June 2002 for a rumored $1 million. “A match created in hip-hop heaven,” as Serpick put it.
Shady/Aftermath, in contrast to Columbia Records, quickly set 50 Cent to work. Towards the end of 2002, three of 50 Cent’s tracks, including “Wanksta,” appeared on the soundtrack to 8 Mile, a film based on Eminem’s life. Upon hearing “Wanksta,” radio stations began playing the new rapper’s music heavily, and fans quickly lined up to purchase his debut album. Therefore, 50 Cent and Eminem entered the studio to record what would become 50 Cent’s first album. Eminem produced a number of the songs, and Dr. Dre, another hip-hop legend, produced a number of the other tracks (1965–). Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was released in February of 2003 and became an instant hit. It opened at number one and went on to sell nearly a million copies in its first week.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’
You could almost hear 50 Cent’s life story in the lyrics of getting Rich or Die Tryin’. Some of his songs were dissed tracks, like “U Not Like Me,” which was directed at Sean “P. Diddy” Combs (1971-), while others were dance remixes, like “In Da Club,” which became an instant hit single. 50 Cent, however, spent the majority of getting Rich or Die Tryin’ “riffing on his crime-ridden history,” as David Browne of Entertainment Weekly put it.
Every song was unquestionably R-rated due to its explicit content (drugs, guns, and death were common themes). However, Fifty Cent did not apologize for the content of his songs. According to an interview he gave to Ebony magazine, “I cuss to describe how I feel… The experiences I’ve been through shaped me the way I am.”
today.” In getting Rich or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent also talked about his future and how eager he is to cash in on his hip-hop stardom. Among other things, he sings about “patiently waiting for a track to detonate.” In addition, 50 Cent claims in “In Da Club” that he is “feelin’ concentrate, dude, my money on my mind/ Got a mil out the deal and I’m still on the grind.”
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was the best-selling CD of 2003, having sold over 6.4 million copies by the year’s end. It was also the most successful debut ever for a new artist on a major label, peaking at No. 1. Fifty Cent has won five World Music Awards and been nominated for five Grammys, two of the biggest honors in the music industry. Reviewer Ted Kessler speculated that “cold-blooded sincerity to [50 Cent’s] storylines… that set him apart” was the key to the album’s popularity, despite the disc’s clubby dance numbers. The critics agreed that 50 Cent’s choir-boy smile and his tattooed, well-toned physique helped to enhance sales in addition to his harsh voice.
Member of Da Club
50 Cent joined the ranks of the hip-hop elite and the A-list Hollywood set after the success of getting Rich or Die Tryin’. The South Jamaican teen spent $4.1 million to buy the former home of boxing champion Mike Tyson (1966-). this transaction took place in October 2003. Since 50 Cent’s “bad boy” days weren’t over just yet, he also bought a fleet of armored SUVs. To paraphrase what he told Ebony, “you’ve… to take measures no matter how successful you are.” 50 Cent wears a bulletproof vest daily and requires his son to do the same. The concerns expressed by 50 Cent are warranted. His mentor and close friend, Jam Master Jay, was murdered in his Queens, New York recording studio in 2002.
Fifty Cent may not be interested in abandoning his gangster reputation, but he does plan to channel it into his music and other projects: “50 Cent is a metaphor for change,” he told Zondra Hughes. Beg for Mercy was 50 Cent and G-(short Units for Guerrilla Unit) first studio album, released in the latter half of 2003. Also, the rapper shared word that he will soon begin working on a memoir.
There was movie offers he was thinking about, too. 50 Cent’s outlook on the future was pragmatic but optimistic. From what he disclosed to Serpick: “Every time I turn around, it feels like something bad is happening, so I guess I should just expect that life won’t always be perfect and in my favor. But it certainly seems that way at the moment. It looks nice up to this point.”