When it came time for 50’s debut studio album, his powers were on full display and his resources were abundant. Appearances on the soundtrack for Eminem’s film 8 Mile showcased 50’s ominous tone, dark sense of humor, and penchant for sticky sing-along hooks-a perfect match for Em and Dre’s empire. Dre and Eminem came out on top, signing 50 in a joint venture of their respective companies Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records. It was a brilliant marketing strategy that put him at the center of a bidding war between record labels-a bona fide, unapologetic gangsta rapper at a time when the radio was run by acts like Ludacris and Nelly who cloaked their street content with fun, nonthreatening melodies.

50 learned the ropes of songwriting under the mentorship of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, landed a deal with Columbia Records, and built a buzz with the clever, trolling single “How to Rob” before being hit with nine bullets outside of his grandmother’s home in South Jamaica, Queens.Īfter recovering from the attack, he began a legendary mixtape run with his G-Unit crew that reworked the hit rap and R&B records of the time, maintaining those songs’ melodies while creating his own hilarious, street-savvy choruses. But if anything, the album was an origin story for one of rap’s all-time great supervillains, and the lead-up to its release felt straight out of a comic book or a movie.

On the iconic cover of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent essentially looks like a hood superhero: He’s shirtless with pristinely chiseled muscles adorning his tatted torso, with matching gun holsters emblazoned with “50” in the style of the Gucci logo around his shoulders.

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