If you weren’t there, it’s very hard to quantify just what a juggernaut 50 Cent was between 2002 and 2007.
From total obscurity to underground buzz to being blackballed by the music industry and then becoming the biggest thing in all of music within a few short years, Curtis Jackson and his brand of street anthems with a pop sensibility was so ubiquitous that he would make even 2024 Taylor Swift blush.
The former Golden Gloves boxer and drug dealer from South Jamaica, Queens put up record numbers, had Billboard hits in abundance in an era where you had to earn them, and possessed the type of crossover appeal that was usually reserved for, well, Eminem.
Even in the early days, 50 was never content to be just another rapper. He leveraged his music success into establishing G-Unit Records — through which he launched the careers of Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Young Buck and The Game — starring in a movie loosely based on his life and launching a string of widely successful business ventures and endorsement deals.
AD LOADING...
A formidable opponent when it came to rap beef, he vanquished Ja Rule into a punchline, exposed The Game for not writing his own hits and even inadvertently cost Fat Joe a $20 million deal with Air Jordan. Going into his storied Curtis vs. Graduation chart battle with Kanye West in 2007, Fif was one of the most successful rappers of all time. Such was his midas touch, even Tony Yayo sold more than 200,000 copies in his first week.
Then, of course, Kanye knocked him off his perch and the whole Hip Hop landscape changed. The hits dried up as quickly as they came and cracks soon appeared in his once-dominant partnership with Interscope. There was a public spat with Jimmy Iovine over 50 launching his own rival to Beats By Dre headphones and, in turn, Interscope practically shelved his planned fifth album, Street King Immortal, causing him to depart the label.
At the time, it looked as if 50 Cent would become just another rapper destined to fade away after a short but explosive career. There were failed businesses including his own boxing promotion company and, of course, his infamous 2015 bankruptcy. And while rich people bankruptcy is different to normal people bankruptcy, it was still a bad look for the one-time superstar as his finances were laid bare for the public to see.
But 50 Cent survived nine shots, so write him off at your peril.
AD LOADING...
Over the last decade, the G-Unit general has rebuilt himself into a cultural and commercial powerhouse, expanding his portfolio with the guile and ruthlessness of a Wall Street executive and dominating several fields as Hip Hop becomes an ever-increasing young man’s game. His financial troubles are firmly in the rearview as 50 is closing in on becoming only Hip Hop’s third ever billionaire.
Below, HipHopDX explores how 50 Cent has once again conquered the globe.
AD LOADING...
Power is Power
The first season of Power debuted on June 7, 2014, a year before 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy, citing debts of up to $50 million. No longer the musical powerhouse after the failure of his only non-Shady/Aftermath/Interscope album, Animal Ambition, the small screen would become his guiding light.
Debuting to little fanfare on the STARZ network, Power would soon tap into an underserved demographic (young and Black) with its mix of gangster thrills and soap opera, improbably becoming one of the most watched shows on all of cable TV.
The series became the jewel in STARZ’s crown and as executive producer, 50 signed a lucrative overall deal with the network, leading to the creation of the Power universe. With three spin-offs and more in development, 50 has enjoyed the arguably most successful pivot of any musician into TV. It’s a Big Rich Town.
AD LOADING...
The Final Lap
The actors and writers’ strike of 2023 shut down virtually all Hollywood production overnight. 50, being the multihyphenate hustler that he is, did a 180 back to music and embarked on a worldwide tour in celebration of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ turning 20. Up until very recently, rappers have struggled to bring in the ultra-big bucks that pop and rock stars have generated from touring, but we’re currently in a boom period for Hip Hop tours and 50 has been one of the major beneficiaries of that trend.
Across 105 shows that took him as far and wide as New Zealand, India and Saudi Arabia, the Final Lap Tour sold over 1 million tickets and grossed over $100 million. All this was done without 50 releasing any significant new music in a decade, proving the enduring power of his magnetic stardom and millions-selling catalog.
The success of the tour also led to Las Vegas coming calling, with the “In Da Club” hitmaker securing a short but sweet six-show residency in Sin City over the holiday period. While reviews were mixed, 50 is said to have earned a handsome $15 million for the handful of dates.
AD LOADING...
Welcome to Shreveport
Rappers dabbling in film and TV is a tale as old as time. From Ice-T‘s several thousand years on Law & Order to Eminem’s 8 Mile and Roc-A-Fella’s brief foray into producing an array of low-budget hood movies, Hip Hop has long loved Hollywood. 50 Cent himself has been acting for almost 20 years, beginning with the semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Since then, his output has seen hits (Southpaw, Den of Thieves, Escape Plan) and misses (virtually any of the direct-to-DVD things he’s starred in) but he has been nothing if not prolific.
50 has always had the hunger for more, and in 2023 he took out a lease on a sprawling studio complex in Shreveport, Louisiana, putting the media mogul in control of his own in-house production facility that can also serve as a base for other films and TV shows. The landmaker move puts 50 in a small and unique group of Black studio owners along with Tyler Perry (with whom he’s teased a “big” collaboration).
Last summer also saw the rap veteran host his inaugural Humor & Harmony Weekend in the Ratchet City. The four-day music and comedy festival not only delivered performances from the likes of Dave Chappelle, Katt Williams and 2 Chainz, but gave a major boost to the local economy and was praised by the city’s police for being a harmonious, crime-free event.
AD LOADING...
Action Hero
50 has starred in his fair share of action movies, from blockbusters like The Expendables 4 and Den of Thieves to straight-to-DVD fare such as Freelancers and Gun. Buoyed by his other big moves in Hollywood as a producer, the rapper-turned-entertainment tycoon launched 50 Cent Action late last year, a TV channel dedicated to the genre.
Freely available through The Roku Channel and backed by the powerhouse that is Lionsgate, the FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channel brings with it the best of the genre. Offerings include Rambo, Kill Bill and The Expendables, as well as 50’s Power series.
AD LOADING...
Crack a Bottle
It’s far from uncommon for a rapper to get into the spirits game. JAY-Z, Diddy and Rick Ross are among those who have partnered with brands or launched products themselves, often to success. Since its inception in 2014, 50’s Sire Spirits (which is named after his youngest son) has made a splash with Branson Cognac and Le Chemin du Roi Champagne, something he reminds you of every single time he posts on Instagram (which is a lot).
Some of the brand’s biggest moves in recent years have come in the world of sport, with Sire Spirits inking partnerships with a growing number of teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL including the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Saints and Houston Astros. As the official spirit partner of these teams, Sire Spirits even has its own suites in their home arenas. Not bad for a guy who’s famously teetotal.
“My partnerships are with the owners direct,” 50 explained in an interview with Cam’ron last year. “I think when you have everything, the ‘cool’ is the object. It’s to figure out what’s really cool. And then when the really rich guys, the owners, keep seeing you around other guys that are their equivalent, they look and go, ‘Bring me that, that’s cool.’ So they want to be around me too and it starts to open up.”
AD LOADING...
Social Media King
Despite the fact that 50 Cent is pushing 50, his ultimate battleground is social media, specifically Instagram. Where he once took his beefs to the studio (and occasionally the lobby of Hot 97), he now operates IG as his own little fiefdom. If anything goes down in Hip Hop, his page is pretty much the first point of call. Frequent victims of his taunts, witticisms and outright slander include Diddy, JAY-Z, Rick Ross, Jim Jones, Young Buck and, of course, Ja Rule.
50’s notorious social media activity has also kept him relevant among younger fans who were not there for his aughties musical prime. With 33 million Instagram followers and a further 13 million on X, pretty much anything 50 posts on social media becomes cultural catnip as he offers unfiltered takes on hot button issues in Hip Hop, politics and elsewhere. It’s a constant reminder to his many enemies that Curtis Jackson is always watching.
AD LOADING...
Many Men (Wish Death Upon Donald Trump)
When Donald Trump was nearly assassinated at a rally in Pennsylvania last July, few would have thought one of the biggest beneficiaries would be 50 Cent. Not in any political sense, but after the president-elect survived the attempt on his life, social media users quickly began comparing the shooting to 50’s own brush with death in 2000. What followed was a resurgence in popularity for “Many Men (Wish Death),” which re-entered the top 10 on iTunes and enjoyed a 250 percent increase in streams.
Even Trump himself jumped on the trend, entering Adin Ross’ livestream to the song and offering 50 Cent $3 million to perform at his campaign rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. While 50 declined the lucrative gig, it further emphasized the importance of his music and its legacy — even if it led to MAGA supporters streaming Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in record numbers.
