50 Cent’s G-Unit signees haven’t always parted ways on good terms (ask The Game or Young Buck), but when Rotimi left the label around 2017, it was “all love” between him and 50.
Speaking with HipHopDX ahead of the release of his new movie House Party, the actor/musician explained what happened with his G-Unit deal, revealing that his departure from the label was his decision as he wanted to “do my thing and grow.”
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When he requested to extricate himself from his contract, 50 didn’t stand in his way.
“With G-Unit, 50 Cent gave me my deal in 2014,” Rotimi said. “We had a conversation like, ‘Yo, I have an idea that I want to just do my thing and grow.’ And as a businessman, he knew that he saw himself in me and said, ‘I’m not going to stop you from doing what you need to do.'”
He added: “That man is a different kind of beast. So I thanked him for that because I was able to learn on my own and still have his support.”
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Rotimi, who appeared as Andre “Dre” Coleman in 50 Cent’s popular Power series, added that he and the Queens, New York native remain on good terms and is always open to future collaborations.
“Even after we left, he found his own way to market me and it worked,” he said. “So again, any time he calls me and needs me it’s all love and it’s always been that way. I signed for like three years and then I got out my deal.”
Rotimi signed to G-Unit after building buzz as an artist through R&B projects like The Resume and While You Wait. During his tenure on the label, the multihyphenate teamed up with 50 Cent on an updated version of his single “Lotto,” as well as the T.I.-assisted “Nobody.”
Rotimi also dropped the eight-song project Jeep Music Vol. 1, which peaked at No. 16 on Billboard‘s Top Heatseekers chart. He later inked a partnership with EMPIRE Distribution in 2019, a move he says was born out of a desire for “creative freedom.”
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While the Northwestern University graduate remembers an amicable departure from G-Unit, he did feel the wrath of 50 Cent when his former label boss demanded he pay him $300,000 that was allegedly owed to him. After initially denying 50’s claims, Rotimi later coughed up $100,000 and chalked the dispute down to miscommunication.
“Let me explain the whole situation,” he said in an interview with TMZ Live in 2019. “When you’re signed to someone as an artist, they give you a budget to promote the records, make sure everything’s good with the records and market it so it gets the best value … 50 believed in me in 2014 and gave me a deal under G-Unit.
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“At this point, we didn’t agree on the single ‘Love Rhythm.’ I felt it was the one. He felt like I should’ve gone with another record, so I asked him, ‘Can I get out of my deal?’ He said, ‘Yes, I’m not gonna hold you back, but there’s business.’”
He added: “The way he handles situations is unorthodox. I think he was just in a bad mood yesterday. I don’t know what it was. I was just confused, like, ‘Yo, we talked about this.’ We talked about it today. Instead of waiting for royalties, because he’s my brother, instead of waiting for royalties, I gave him $100,000. We’re good.”
Rotimi has since released a handful of projects — including his 2021 debut album All or Nothing — while continuing to establish himself as a force in Hollywood. His latest role finds him playing a bully who gives the lead actors a hard time in House Party, a reboot of the classic 1990 flick which starred Kid ‘N Play.
For Rotimi, the original movie carries special significance as it was his introduction to the “Gittin’ Funky” duo.
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“For me it was the film. I thought they were so cool,” he said when asked about his first memories of Kid ‘N Play. “And I thought it was so geniusly written and genuinely funny. It was the first of its kind.
“So for us to be part of something that was so legendary, we had to bring our A game. They had to make sure the writing was good, they had to pick the best cast for it. So for us to be part of something like this is just God.”
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House Party hits theaters on Friday (January 13).
