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It's been 10 years since 50 Cent's debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' changed the face of hip-hop forever. 50 Cent was larger than life—a game-changer, the ultimate gangster rap crossover, a man who showed up as a legend, ready to become another one. Co-signed by one of the most singular and crucial entities of contemporary rap, Eminem, and the genre's most important producer, Dr. Dre, with a full street pedigree and a fearless persona, he eclipsed the competition.
It was the biggest opening statement since Doggystyle. It was proof of the importance of mixtape hustle in a new music economy. It solidified the reinvention Dr. Dre began on 2001. It initiated G-Unit's rap game takeover. And, ultimately, it became hip-hop's commercial peak, at the height of the genre's domination of Top 40.
We spoke with the OGs—artists from the era of 50's pop chart takeover, whose influence is pervasive to this very day—as well as the young'uns (artists who were only kids when Curtis Jackson was emerging as one of pop music's dominant stars).
We wanted to know: How did it feel to be them when they first heard Get Rich or Die Tryin'? What did they hear? What was that moment like? And how has it influenced them since? Whatever the answer, a consistent theme emerged: Get Rich or Die Tryin's lasting legacy isn't just an album, but also, the way everything changed the moment 50 dropped it.
As told to Joe LaPuma, Ernest Baker, David Drake, Lauren Nostro, and Insanul Ahmed.
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Pusha T
"At the time, we were both managed by Chris Lighty. And, man, it was at the height of his musical rise and his beef was just as high as his musical rise. [Laughs.] I remember having to go through back entrances and so on. I was at the Meadowlands and there was a shooting at the bus and all of that. I remember it was crazy drama. But it was crazy drama nightly. Security was high because of the attempts at 50 and the whole G-Unit gang. It was serious.
"The tour, though, was so great because the energy from the fans was just amazing. 50 was the newest, hottest artist. All the stars had aligned for him. It was interesting to see him be in work mode, but have this type of beef going on. His beefs were really real, and he was really performing to the best of his ability every night. All of them were. And then it would be like high security lock down afterwards.
"50 didn’t let it get to him at all—not that I saw. We weren’t talking about it, but I knew what the hell was going on because I knew the way in which I had to move in regards to the tour.
50 was the newest, hottest artist. All the stars had aligned for him. It was interesting to see him be in work mode, but have this type of beef going on. His beefs were really real, and he was really performing to the best of his ability every night.
"I like 50 Cent. I've said it numerous times, G-Unit was my favorite label. And his mission—I still respect his mission and what he was doing to this day. I just like the fact that it was like, ‘Fuck everybody, it’s just about my crew.’ As you can see, when your fame started to get from outside of that motto, that’s when things started breaking down. I always respected 50 just because it was like, he saw it. It all reminds me of the streets. He handled his business in the crew in a sense of, it seemed like, street rules.
"If there’s a few crews getting money in the streets, for example. A lot of times, they don’t cross paths. And if they do, it’s a line that is totally drawn. It’s like, ‘Listen, I’m all about my crew, they all about their crew and that's just what it is.’ He had that same motto and that same mentality [with business]. I understood where he was coming from in wanting to keep his circle tight. When things started to get a little different and people started deviating from that motto, I believe that’s why things began to unravel.
"Get Rich or Die Tryin' was a classic album because, to me, musically, everything aligned. Even just as far as the times, the controversy, everything was just in line. It was a whole body of work. It wasn’t just a lyrical thing to me. And that’s usually what I’m about. Whereas I might have been like, ‘Damn, the lyrics weren’t the best on a particular song, but the hook was crazy. It married the beat well' and the lyrics weren’t bad, it just wasn’t my particular Jay-Z level of intricacy. And it made me have a whole other outlook, because I’m like, ‘Damn, I can love this and I can like this and I do see the greatness in it without it being what I strive for.’ 50 Cent made me look at music and writing differently."
Funkmaster Flex
"I remember being in the club and the vinyl was still popping then and you could play six or seven records off that album and send the club into a frenzy. "'What Up Gangsta,' 'Poor Lil Rich,' '21 Questions,' and of course 'In Da Club'." "P.I.M.P" was hard too, that was mean. 50 was in the zone. He was coming off hot mixtapes. That was kind of the first time an artist was riding and he brought his whole team with him.
"Usually an artist comes out, sells a little bit then brings out artists. He kind of had the artists next to him in the whole album. From the freestyles to mixtapes. I remember him, Yayo and Banks coming out and doing a freestyle on my show and they all kept yelling '50 could retire if he wanted to!'
"The freestyle was mean that night. That album was a combination of every part of the United States. He had Nate Dogg giving you that West Coast feel. 50 always had a little South in him to me. Queens was always represented. It was an amazing album. It was also a hard album for him to top, a hard album for a lot of people to top.
"'In Da Club' was so hard, man. I spoke to him or something and he eluded towards having a single and I didn't hear it but if you listen to that freestyle on my show, he does the hook to "In Da Club." He knew he had a smash. I remember in the club to tell a girl 'Go shawty, it's your birthday' was disrespectful. It wasn't cool, that wasn't nice. That was usually leading towards a woman being loose. The whole thing is we know it's not your birthday but we're saying it's your birthday just because you're on the dance floor acting silly. I thought that was funny and his verse was mean. That beat was so—that 'boom boom cha boom boom' was so crazy.
All those records I mentioned off his album still crank in the club. It's a different energy, it's a 10-year later classic type of remembrance to it.
"I never go into the booth saying I'm going to play a record on the radio for an hour straight. I'll play it and then they'll be people in the station and I just get a vibe. Like you know when a record is doing good, it's this feeling. It's all on gut feeling, I never go in there saying I'm going to play it a bunch of times. I just heard it and was like this is hard. Sometimes I hear something through a computer and then I hear it through the big speakers in the big DJ booth. Sometimes it's a better feeling, sometimes it's a worse feeling.
"That record in particular I was like, 'This is cranking!' There was no stopping it after that. I probably did that whole playing a record an hour straight on the radio with a Dre record, a Jay-Z record, and 50's record. I think Cam'ron had called a few days later like, 'I was riding the highway up to Harlem, had that record on and then when I was riding back down you still had the record on.' All those records I mentioned off his album still crank in the club. It's a different energy, it's a 10-year later classic type of remembrance to it.
"When it used to be big years ago, it was like hearing mixtape cuts in the club. It went from there to now—it's like a classic movement and people like those records. The album represented a special artist. He's been through a lot. He got shot nine or 10 times, labels weren't signing him, he got dropped from Sony. He had to regroup—come back with mixtapes. He appeared that he was still persecuted, he was being blocked, he was beefing with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. So he was kind of in trouble and then those mixtapes man, making those mixtapes over, having those little beefs here and there-that album was reflecting the voice of the current crown holder of the street. This was like getting a dope polished mixtape from a guy that was holding the street crown so it was a big deal."
Bun B
"I had met 50 probably about two years, maybe even three, before that. He was with Atlantic. I met him through Tone & Poke. Tone was a good friend of mine. 50 was originally with Tone back in those days. I had recorded with 50 prior to him getting stabbed and then shot. Seeing him come back through all of that to create a situation for himself doing the mixtapes, forming G-Unit, getting that crazy street buzz, signing with Eminem and Dr. Dre. All that stuff, it just seemed so larger than life at the time. Personally, I was just happy to see this guy persevere through everything. 50 was always a cocky guy. He always didn’t a damn what anybody thought about what he said and he just rode that out."
DJ Drama
"Every time All-Star comes around, it always reminds me of that February '03 when All-Star was in Atlanta and 50 Cent dropped his album. That was the soundtrack for the All-Star week. For that moment, it was crazy. The whole industry was in the city and 50 was made such a monumental album.
"At that point 'In Da Club' was already a smash, but you knew '21 Questions' was definitely a hit record. I started playing records in the club to get the feel for them and saw the reaction, I saw which records were gonna go. But out of all the songs on the album, I could say probably at least eight, maybe even 10 records, could all be played in the club.
The South loved 50. Point blank, period, I think he was smart because he clearly embraced the South. Even before the album, he had done a record with UGK, he was cool with Juvenile and Ludacris, and he embraced Young Buck.
"The South loved 50. Point blank, period, I think he was smart because he clearly embraced the South. Even before the album, he had done a record with UGK, he was cool with Juvenile and Ludacris, and he embraced Young Buck. More than anything, 50 had the nation on smash so the South was no different.
"Right before the album dropped, he came down here and did a party at this club called Level 3 on Peachtree Street. I guess the promoter had got him at the perfect time because it was pandemonium. This was when the club was still open crazy late and 50 didn't even come until 4 o'clock in the morning, but it was still packed. He used to open up his shows with that Jay-Z line, 'I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 cents?' Then he'd drop the coin [and come on stage]. So you knew who was about to come on when you heard that.
"You know, what 50 did, what Kanye did, what Jay-Z did, what Drake did, what Jeezy did, those were those moments when it's just that one artist and he is hip-hop for that moment. Clearly when Get Rich or Die Tryin' came out there's no argument anywhere, about anything. It was Fif's world, period."
Juicy J
"I was a fan. I love Get Rich or Die Tryin’. That was one of my favorite albums. It’s a classic. I was really, really listening to that album. Then he had the G-Unit thing going on and Young Buck was a friend of mine. I been knowing Young Buck forever. So I was happy for Young Buck as well, because he’d been rapping so long and he finally got his big break in G-Unit. I think it’s a blessing for people coming from the street to do something that they love and actually make a living off it and feed their families and stuff. That’s very important. It’s important to work together."
Soulja Boy
"I was 12 years old. The first time I heard about 50 Cent was that 'Wanksta' video. I was still in the hood and shit. When 'Wanksta' came out, I was like, 'Who is this dude? Who is this new nigga?' And they was like, 'Man, he dissing on Ja Rule.'
"'Wanksta' was aight. I thought it was okay. The video was hard. I thought he was gonna be a one-hit wonder. I was like, 'This just some new nigga with a video. Who is 50 Cent?' Then after that he came out with 'In Da Club,' then I seen 'In Da Club' come on TV and it was just over with. That nigga was my favorite rapper. I was like, 'God damn, this nigga got so much swag.' Then I got on the Internet and looked him up and shit. I ain’t never really have enough money to buy the album, to keep it real. I got his album from a nigga at school. I used to play football. We went on a trip to play football and dude had the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ CD on him. So shit, I just got it off him, he let me have it, and I just used to bump that shit like everyday. I remember my daddy had a copy in his car.
"When I first met him, that was actually surreal. It was an unreal moment. That was tight. When we first started recording music together that was definitely a memorable time.
"One thing about 50, dude don’t never shut up. When we sit down, this nigga talk for an hour, two hours, however long you let him talk, that’s how long the nigga gonna talk to you. He got so many stories, and so many lessons, and so much shit he been through. I’ll sit down with him, we could be at a dinner or something, and that nigga just be rambling. It’s all up on you to listen, so I definitely be listening to him. He definitely gives some good advice, but he gives a lot of advice. If you cool with 50, anybody will tell you, that nigga talks a lot. Like, if he really fucks with you, he trying to give you some advice, that nigga goes on and on and on and on. He’s so smart, man, that shit crazy. I just try to soak up as much of it as I can. Anytime he sit down and tell me some shit, it ain’t never been wrong, it ain’t never no dumb shit. It’s always something smart like he know what the fuck he talking about. He a cool dude, man, for real. He know he one of the greats."
Prodigy
"It was a good time for Queens. 50 had just dropped. He was really heating up. It was just crazy. He was a friend of a friend, so it felt good to see him be successful like that and get his shine.
"They would play 'In Da Club' and I’d be blasting that shit in the car. I remember I had a Yukon Denali XL at that time, a white one, and I was living up in Rockland County and I remember being on the Palisades parkway at night and listening to Hot 97. I remember it exactly: First they played Ludacris’ song, then played 50’s song, back-to-back. And then they kept playing 50’s song. They would keep bringing it back.
"I was like, 'Yo, this nigga is out of here with this shit.' That was a good time back then, man. That was definitely a good time in hip-hop. For the South, for New York. I’m trying to think of any other market that was poppin’ at that time. I think it was just like Atlanta and Queens, to tell you the truth."
Freeway
"I'm a big 50 Cent fan, so I definitely supported it when the joint came out. I lived right across the street from a Tower Records, so I remember going in there and grabbing that album.
"There was a lot of excitement around 50. We were always cool. He was on a mixtape tour so we were doing a bunch of shows together. I remember when his album came out and it did all them numbers, I called him like, 'Yo, your joint did a lot of numbers, it's gone be crazy.' He was like, 'Don't worry about it, your joint gon' do the same thing when it drop.' My joint was successful, it ain't do all the numbers that he did, but it was definitely still a classic. So it's all good. I seen him a couple times [after my album dropped] and he told me he loved the album. But I don't think he gave me a call when it dropped, he was still running around doing his thing.
"We ain't never talk about [how 50 would open his shows with Jay-Z's 'I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cent.'] Jay was cool with 50 because of the Roc The Mic tour. 50 used to always come to the dressing room, fuck with Jay, they used to always be cool. I remember when 50 first got the Vitaminwater deal, he came in and told Jay like, 'Yeah man, I just did a deal with Vitaminwater. I'm about to get paid off this Vitaminwater.' He would always come in and fuck with Jay, so it was always love."
DJ Clark Kent
"'Cause I was cool with 50, I heard it a little early. Like maybe two weeks early. And those guys were my friends. If you remember, I produced the "Fuck You" song, so we were already cool. And like I said: I've known 50 since he was with Jam Master Jay.
"So I was hearing the music when it was happening. I just thought he had actually put together a super solid body of great songs. To me, with 50, it's not about the rhymes, it's about the songs. And his song-making ability was so ill that when I first heard it, I was like 'That's really, practically, a perfect album.'
"My favorite song, funny enough, on that album: "If I Can't." When I heard that, I was like 'Oh my god that's just like the insanity.' Of course, "In Da Club" was what it was, "Wanksta" had already been doing what it was. But when I heard "If I Can't" I was like 'That shit is just stupid.' And it just sounded so angry, and super clean.
First time I played 'In Da Club,' I think I played it like eight times in a row. I had a super early pressing of the record, and I just wore the shit into the club that night.
"First time I played 'In Da Club,' I think I played it like eight times in a row. I had a super early pressing of the record, and I just wore the shit into the club that night. It's just such a mean record. The energy on it made you...It's like you had no choice but to like it.
"It's not like he was trying to sell out. Imagine you go to a club, and there's a bunch of super-thugs, but when your record comes on, and you're singing in the record, these thugs are singing the record with you. They're ghetto sing-a-long records. He mastered that shit.
"Because of how much of a monster his first album was, it almost set him up to never be that successful again musically. It was too crazy. Like, even the G-Unit album that came out after that was really crazy. But the thing is, it was too big, too fast. Everything was too good, too fast. "
Tech N9ne
"First thing I heard [of 50 Cent's] was 'How To Rob.' Then he got shot, so when I heard Get Rich, I could tell that bullet going through his cheek affected him. But he made that work for him just like Kanye made [his car crash] work for 'Through the Wire.' He made it sound good and I guess it gave him a little bit more swag.
"There were a lot of hits on that motherfucker. Everybody liked 'What Up Gangsta' because I come from a gang bang neighborhood. So he gave love to both sides. [Laughs.] 'Wanksta' was the hood jam. He had so many videos, he did the SWV thing where damn near every song was a single and had a video. It was a beautiful thing that he did.
"I remember being in the club and hearing 'In Da Club.' Everybody was talking about it before I heard it. Then I heard it in the club somewhere—I think I was down South or in Houston—and was like, 'Oh my fucking God.' I remember being in the middle of the dance floor. It was packed because everybody down South dances. I remember thinking he was so smart for saying, 'Go shorty. It's ya birthday,' because everybody can relate.
"I met a couple years ago for the first time. I went up to do a ThisIs50.com interview with Jack Thriller. 50 happened to be there. He came out of his office. I said, 'What's up brother?' He was real calm and saying how he loved the way we're doing business. I was flattered, coming from 50, because he's a businessman. In my eyes he's an MC, businessman, all that. So to hear another businessman to another say, I admire what you're doing, it's a big thing. I love to see what he's built. I think his Get Rich movie was top-notch. I think it's neck and neck with 8 Mile. I think he did a wonderful job acting.
I remember being in the club and hearing 'In Da Club.' Everybody was talking about it before I heard it. Then I heard it in the club somewhere—I think I was down South or in Houston—and was like, 'Oh my fucking God.'
"He said to me, 'Tech, I bought Mike Tysons house off of one record, 'In Da Club.' He said, 'One song Tech.' Every since then, everyone keeps saying that to me, 'Tech, you're one song away.' Every time I hear 'In Da Club,' I think of 50 saying to me, 'I bought Mike Tysons house off of one song.'
"50 probably ain't gotta do shit no more [to make money]. To still see him doing music, it lets you know that that shit is inside you because he ain't gotta do it, ever again. To see him keep doing it, it lets me know that when I think about retiring, [I can't]. When I hear a dope beat it makes me want to fucking go. I can't stop. That's all I can think of when I see 50 still doing his thing. It must be in his blood, he don't wanna let it go. He ain't gotta do it, especially if he bought Mike Tysons house with one song."
Master P
"I was in New Orleans. I thought it was a great record. It was a street record, it was good, it had all elements, the beats, a top record. I really liked it. It was a good piece of work by 50. The club song ["In Da Club"] was the record for me, the one that got me. I was really mostly doing a lot of movies at the same time. Which was good because when you have good music, it gets you through whatever you're doing. We were definitely playing that album on the set."
Sha Money XL
"The illest part about the whole thing was: My birthday is on February 11th. We dropped it a few days before because of the demand and then the whole world got it on the 11th, on my birthday, as planned. That was the best gift I could have ever gotten. We were so busy that we didn't even have time to celebrate. 50 had so much stuff to do I couldn't even celebrate my birthday. I couldn't even chill.
I knew I had a classic in my hands. I had higher predictions on that album than 50 had for himself. No one could tell me that 50 wasn't going to be the biggest rapper of this time, period. I bet everything on him. I bet my safety, I bet my life, I bet my family. We recorded in my house when people wanted to kill his ass.
"If you notice, that album is demographically covered. He covered the South—I had found Buck from hanging out with Juvenile, so that was Buck's debut as well. That was our G-Unit South extension, we were grabbing someone from the South. Working with Dre, that was West Coast. With Eminem, that's the Mid-West. So regionally we were covered.
"He did his thing for the weed heads too. 50 doesn't even smoke weed, but I was the one getting high all the time in front of him. He made that record not only an album, but he marketed the songs, personally. If you break it down it's like, this is for the weed heads, this is for the heads in the South. That's how he thought.
[50] was still a cheap bastard, and he didn't even want to have to hire an engineer. So I had to engineer the record too, at an all-in fee. But it was a get-rich fee. That fee made me a millionaire at 26.
"I engineered the album. I recorded all the vocals on that album except for what Dr. Dre did. I recorded it at my crib in my basement, so I was the engineer. If I wasn't the engineer, I was the producer. If I wasn't the producer, I was the co-producer. If I wasn't the co-producer, I was the executive producer. I was the one finding him the music to rap to.
"Damn near everything [was recorded at my crib] in Westbury, New York. Even 'In Da Club and 'Many Men' were recorded at my crib. I learned Pro Tools doing that album. 'What Up Gangsta' was recorded at my crib but I lost the vocals, so we had to re-cut those vocals. That was all recorded in my basement, that's where we did all the G-Unit shit. Every last one of them.
"After that album dropped, that was the last year he worked in my basement. After that, we hit the road for two years straight, and we seen New York for about 20 days for the whole year. We hit the road and we never returned back to that. I never moved back to that house. I moved totally up from that point on.
"I never wanted to be an engineer but we didn't have any money to pay anybody. Even when we got the check, he was still a cheap bastard, and he didn't even want to have to hire an engineer. So I had to engineer the record too, at an all-in fee. But it was a get rich fee. That fee made me a millionaire at 26. So I thank 50 Cent for that, because I got rich and I didn't die trying."
stic.man of dead prez
"50’s presence and his inspiration at that time was infectious, in terms of the culture, in terms of the community, in terms of the hood, in terms of hip-hop. Like him or not like him, 50 Cent has a master plan of marketing his brand and using his life to draw attention to what he was about.
"We all saw it right before our eyes. He was leading by example in terms of how he would flood the hood with songs. A lot of times people be so jealous of each other, we don’t give each other credit for what we teach each other in this game. Different people have been innovative businessmen as it relates to marketing and strategy, and everybody who’s part of this game benefits from it, but we often don’t give people the credit they deserve.
"For us, as Dead Prez, we was watching 50. We certainly might not have united with everything, content-wise, he was about. Some things we did. But we appreciated his go-getter, guerilla approach to making your dream happen. In terms of how he had the bootleggers flooded. All the Africans in New York had his tapes, to the point where we were influenced and our Turn Off the Radio mixtape, we benefited from some of his tactics and applying it to some of our own stuff.
"I salute 50 as a brilliant business person, even though politically he took some stances on things—like loving selling crack, and certain views he might have towards women—that we don’t necessarily agree with. But in the bigger scheme of things, I think he has shown by example the power of being on top of your business as an artist."
Travi$ Scott
"I didn't [buy the album]. My dad bought it, and he gave it to me. That's what I really couldn't understand. I was like, 'How does my dad fuck with this?' My dad only fucks with '70s music, like Parliament. So when he was fucking with 50, I was trying to understand. Like, 'What's going on?' But 50 had joints."
"I was young, but I knew: That nigga 50 was the fucking man. It's hard to express [how it felt] because I was a kid. I was trying figure out how to be icy, to be ill. 50 was just this gangsta nigga that had mad hard songs, so you had to fuck with that nigga. I remember 'In Da Club,' I couldn't even get in the club.
"When 50 came out he had that 'Wanksta' video. I was just like, 'Who is this nigga that's like a Barbie doll?' I thought it was like a Tae Bo commercial. I ain't believe the shit. But I fucked with that shit. The 'Many Men' video was hard too, he was really in a wheelchair, I was like, This nigga is fucking nuts. That 'P.I.M.P' video was nuts. He had Snoop Dogg and Don "Magic" Juan. That was like the hardest shit ever."
Havoc
"Even a year before [Get Rich came out], I did two records with 50 before he even was signed, and he was about to get signed to Dre and Em. Not too many people had heard of him yet, on a national scale. So when he blew up, I kinda knew that he was gonna be big.
It was crazy, because at that time, everybody was waiting for the next big thing, and when GRODT came out, that shit was like...I don’t know. It just gave you this sense of like: hip-hop is still alive type-shit. Son was from Queens. Hip-hop was still poppin. New York hip-hop was still thriving somewhat, a little bit.
Every song on the album was dope. Wasn’t a song on there that I didn’t like. It made you feel good, because being from New York, you’d see how the New York scene was starting to wane, and for somebody to come out from New York and sell multiple platinum albums out the gate? It was one of those things that make you feel good to be from New York."
Casey Veggies
"I was definitely a fan when it came out. 50 was destroying Ja Rule, and that was [my cousin's] favorite rapper at the time. So the fact that 50 came out and he was destroying his favorite rapper...The business plan around the album, you could tell, was all set up perfectly."
Eminem and Dr. Dre and Aftermath had it figured out when it came to hip-hop. It was a great visual, movie-type album for fans. That's why 50 Cent blew up so big off that. It was a great setup, great branding and at the end of the day, 50 Cent knew what fans liked and gave them just that."
Kitty Pryde
"I was 9. We weren’t really allowed to listen to it. We, like, couldn’t listen to 'dirty' 50 Cent or anything. So it was just the radio. The only thing that anybody knew about 50 Cent in third grade was, like, he got shot, and everybody just made up—I still don’t think I know what actually happened to 50 Cent, because I remember being told that he got shot in the face ten times [Ed. Nine.] but lived and he was fine. He was just a legend amongst third graders that knew that a guy got shot in the face a lot. I only knew the versions that had, like, every word bleeped out.
"But I definitely knew who he was, and my dad made a lot of jokes about 50 Cent being in his pocket. Now I still can’t really take him seriously, because he just seems like a dad joke that got shot a lot.
"I think that’s the only way to tell what a rapper’s real relevance is. What nine-year-olds think."
Theophilus London
"50’s rollout was one of the most perfect rollouts in hip-hop. The first video, him introducing Buffy the Body in a Hummer. He had his own apparel. Reeboks and shit. That’s his first album, but it was more like he was a veteran. He knew what he was doing. It was real dope to see.
"It’s crazy that that’s 10 years ago. The shit has changed so much. If 50 dropped GRODT now, I don’t know if it’d be received the same way. He had a real story. I was into Fabolous, and Jadakiss, and battle rapping, watching Smack DVDs. But I can tell when I’m hearing those dudes rapping: It’s just for style. They’re trying to be entertainers. But when I heard 50 rap, I’m like, yeah, he actually did shoot that dude. He’s sounding mad gully on the record. That’s what I liked about him the most. Like, I actually believe this guy. I didn’t really believe Fabolous. Like, I know you didn’t shoot that dude 33 times like a Bird jersey or something like that.
"50’s shit was just realer."
Young Chop
"[I heard that in] the car on 59th and May Street [in Chicago]. I was with my uncle, he had the CD. It was right after it came out—a couple days later. I liked 'Many Men.' That was the hardest song, I liked the beat—that beat [goes] hard. It's been so long, that was like 2003. I was little—maybe 10 or 11 years old."
Heems
"I remember when I was 17, I went to Cancun with a bunch of my friends from school on spring break. But we were in high school. Everyone there was a huge meathead. We were just New York idiots wearing throwback jerseys. But literally—everywhere we went—we couldn’t escape 'In Da Club.' It got to the point where we we’d just be like, 'You ever heard this joint before? What is this? Yo, this shit is dope.' Just playing around. I just remember not being able to escape that song, and being so frustrated by it, but then listening to the record and being like: Oh yeah, 'Many Men,' and all the other joints are cool."
Rockie Fresh
"That's definitely an album that impacted my generation when it came out. That came from a real place. It didn't relate to me as much, because I just don't live my life like that, but it's definitely a classic. I was always in trouble during the time that it came out, and my parents used to try the beatdowns and all that stuff, but it never really worked for me. They started getting creative with their punishments, which was not buying me Jordans, or not getting me albums. I kind of didn't get to appreciate that at the time, but I definitely saw what it was doing to my peers."
A$AP Ant
"I was 10 years old. People was talking about it. It’s crazy because niggas was so young, but we knew what he was saying. We knew who he was dissing. I remember. Everybody was on 50 Cent. I remember getting the bootleg from this crab spot by my old hood. I remember bumping that shit like, Damn, this nigga going hard at Ja Rule. This shit is crazy. Thing about it, I can understand what he’s saying. He didn’t have some complex rhymes or some lyrical 'pi equals the sky,' it was straight to the point lyrics. I remember the song “Back Down” was my favorite song from the album."
Ty Dolla $ign
"I was definitely in L.A. somewhere. It was crazy. The whole album banged. Every single song. 'In Da Club' was huge and 'Wanksta,' '21 Questions.' Of course, the crip and blood one-'What Up Gangsta.'
"At that time, I was just wishing I could meet Dre, play him some beats. I definitely met 50 around that time, out here in New York."
Young Scooter
"It made me go harder in the streets. Really, it was just a street song—50 from the streets. Get Rich or Die Tryin', the title is so strong. It just made everybody go towards it. That's why he named his album that. I bought that CD a million times. It's a classic.
"'Wanksta, '21 Questions.' 'Many Men' just killed it. That's my favorite song. During that G-Unit era, that's all I was really listening to. They just had some good music at that time. He'd just talk big money and he'd be flexing. The way he raps just be flexin. He made himself who he is. Ain't nobody do it for him, you can tell from when he came in until now. That's a classic album. You're always going to listen to it, that's timeless music. I still use that, I just think I'm gonna Get Rich or Die Tryin' the rap game. I'm gonna drop songs every four weeks, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna just keep music out there."
Fredo Santana
"My momma bought it for me. I couldn't get it because it was a parental advisory [CD]. I was going crazy, I was bad as hell listening to it. Shit, that was one of the best albums ever, you know?
"[I listened to] all of them. Every single [song]. But the main one was 'Heat.' I would listen to that first and then start it all over. [Raps in a slurred voice] 'The drama really means nothin' to me/I'll ride by and blow ya brains out/There's no time to cock it, no way to stop it, when niggas run up on you wit them thangs out,/I do what I gotta do I don't care if I get caught, the DA can...' I was in seventh grade, going into eighth, being bad as hell, listening to that shit."