To anyone under the age of 40, or anyone who knows someone under 40, chances are you know who 50 Cent is. If you don’t know 50 Cent, then let me be the first to congratulate you. I, unfortunately, have listened to what he calls “music” which to me only sounds like an uneducated guy giving his best attempt to not slur his words. 50 Cent has recently made the news “beefing” with Kanye West.
On September 11, both 50 Cent and fellow rapper Kanye West are releasing their new albums. 50 Cent has decided that it is his duty as an as_hole to challenge Kanye to a debate over which rapper is better. In a great article about the situation, Hatie Collins is quoted, “It’s a tradition in hip hop that if you want to sell a new album then you come out and take a pop at another artist.”
So it is a PR stunt for 50 Cent to bad mouth a fellow rapper. Just so you all know, Kanye and 50 Cent are friends, and Kanye might even have a track on 50 Cent’s new album. In this case, spinning the whole controversy puts a friendship at risk and sets up a rivalry between an artist (Kanye) and a guy who thinks he’s an artist (50 Cent). Is this spin really necessary? Both have proven record sales and it shouldn’t matter who sells more albums. Rap fans are getting (supposedly) two great albums on the same day. Why come out against a friend just to sell records.
Now, I haven’t mentioned the greatest part of 50 Cent’s challenge…
” If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.” – 50 Cent.
Oh man! If 50 Cent isn’t lying, I believe there is hope out there. I mean it still sucks that he’ll continue to work with his other artists, but if we can get 50 Cent out of the rap game, I am pretty sure you’ll find me cranking up the Kanye West album.
Biased opinions aside, 50 Cent’s spin of his new album can only hurt him both professionally and personally. Professionally, he could be out-sold and have to give up his solo career. Personally, he just lost a friend. (Biased opinion back in: why would you be friends with 50 Cent? He has no loyalty to anyone and would stab you in the back) Should the rap genre come up with a new way to bolster sales other than artists “beefing” with one another? Have we not learned from Tupac or Biggie? Hell, 50 Cent has already been shot before. Why start more beef? — Andrew Smith