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THE REAL 50

50 Cent Proves that Being Real Still the Best Way to be Great

By Jeremy Fischer

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ve probably heard all about 50 Cent – shot nine times, stabbed by another rapper, and brought back from the dead looking surprisingly healthy and ready to whoop some ass. Eminem calls him his favorite rapper, and not just because he’s signed to the Shady/Aftermath label. It’s the other way around, actually. Eminem had been listening to an obscure CD called Guess Who’s Back? by an unsigned rapper called 50 Cent, and he just couldn’t get enough of it – so he signed him.

According to an interview Eminem did with XXL magazine, he had been discouraged about the direction of rap music – too much bling-bling and not enough substance. Then 50 came along, and Eminem’s faith was renewed. He felt inspired. He was excited when he called Dr. Dre, and after some arm-twisting Dre agreed to meet the rapper.

Dre had heard 50’s music, and he knew he was good. His unreleased CD Power of a Dollar had circulated the underground, creating a minor buzz. One song “How to Rob” was about how 50 planned to rob every famous rapper out there. But the 1999 song didn’t make everyone laugh. Several big names in the business, including Jay-Z, Big Pun, Sticky Fingaz and Ghostface Killah, responded with their own jabs at 50. A year later he was shot nine times in front of his grandmother’s house in Queens in an unrelated incident. One bullet hit him in the face and he nearly died.

It was while recovering from these wounds in 2000 that 50 recorded the underground CD Guess Who’s Back? Not long after hearing it, Eminem was on the radio saying how much he loved it. The buzz began to grow. In 2002 Eminem and Dr. Dre flew 50 out to Hollywood, and after a 15-minute meeting they decided to sign him. Eminem put 50’s bootleg “Wangsta” on the 8 Mile soundtrack, and his breakthrough CD Get Rich or Die Trying , released in February, is already taking over Nas’s Illmatic and B.I.G.’s Ready to Die , as the most genre-changing rap LP ever.

But not everything has been so easy for 50. Born in the 70’s to a drug-dealing mother and raised without a father, young 50 Cent (a.k.a., Curtis Jackson) was orphaned at age 8 when his mother was found murdered. Raised by his grandparents, young Curtis then hustled on the infamous New York Avenue (now Guy R. Brewer Boulevard), and racked up a lengthy rap sheet that had nothing to do with music. The birth of his own son put him on a better track, and he began pursuing music more seriously. He learned the trade from fellow Queens rappers Run DMC and the late Jam Master Jay. Unfortunately for 50, though, his reputation followed him, and while he learned to count bars and write lyrics, no one wanted to bank on such a risky commodity. 50 Cent was blackballed by the music industry.

So 50 decided to go at it alone, releasing dozens of songs on independent labels and mix-tapes. His unreleased Power of a Dollar was just creating a buzz when he was attacked at Manhattan’s Hit Factory Studios. The stabbing wasn’t serious according to 50. “My baby’s mother has stabbed me worst than that,” he said in an interview with XXL . “I’m gonna be honest with you, I left that situation with three stitches. That’s a cut. It stopped bleeding on its own.” Still, 50 has some enemies, and whether they’re from his hustling days or his music, no one’s talking. His attitude, however, is surprisingly positive. Even after being shot he was still talking about bouncing back. “The worst part wasn’t getting shot,” he said in an interview with Spin magazine. “The worst part was not knowing what you’re gonna do after you’re shot. I’m sure a lot people counted me out, but bouncing back is defining who I am.”

50 Cent has also proved that keeping it real is sometimes the best way to sell records. He’s not sweet and innocent, he’s not nicey-nicey, and he definitely won’t be selling Cokes or Pepsis anytime soon. But 50 Cent will definitely be selling records, and lots of them, proving that being real is sometimes the best way to be great.

50 Cent will be performing at The Boathouse in Norfolk on Wednesday April 9 ^th , 2003. The show will begin at 9 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at The Boathouse box office, or online at www.cellardoor.com/boat.