Credit: Alamy

50 Cent knows a thing or two about the streets. The Queens rapper, born Curtis Jackson, grew up in South Jamaica with a mother who was a drug dealer and died in a fire when he was just eight years old. 50 was then raised by his grandparents and sold crack during his primary school days, going on to deal narcotics in his later years.

He was once arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover police officer. During another arrest, police searched his home and found cocaine, heroin and a pistol. 50 was also famously shot nine times but lived to tell the tale.

That being said, 50 has experienced tough times. During an interview with Davey D before the release of his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, the G-Unit rapper revealed his five most important codes for the streets.

Firstly, he advised, “Stay to yourself. Just listen. Do more listening than talking. The more you speak, the higher the chances you sayin’ the wrong thing. It’s funny ’cause they always place me in a position where I gotta talk.” For his second code, he said, “Be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of who’s around you”

Regarding hustling, 50 suggested trying to underpay people if they’re willing to accept a cheaper rate. “If you start hustling, then don’t pay a person what they deserve,” he said for his third tip. “Pay them what they accept – that’s good business. Even if you’re not hustlin’, pay them what they accept because you can capitalise off of people.

“In business, there’s people who have talent and there’s people whose talent is to take advantage of people who have talent. That’s their talent, like Steve Stoute, man. The guys behind the scenes get a lot of money.”

50’s fourth code was about adapting to situations and doing whatever is necessary at any given time. “Be prepared to do whatever you have to do,” he said. “If you get put in a situation where your back is up against the wall, let your gun go off. I mean, I think if that doesn’t happen, if that’s missing from you, that you’ll be a victim.

“Sometimes, either you are a victim, or you victimise someone. And in the hood, it’s no holds barred. There’s no way around that. The kid in the schoolyard that doesn’t want to fight always leaves with a black eye. You can believe that, the situation come, you gotta respond. You have to prepare yourself ’cause everyone is not a bad person.”

He continued, “When you walk in your home, you don’t have to maintain the same attitude that you had out in the street. You can be different with your people and your family than you are with a person that you run into in the hood. Even then, they have to know to respond to you differently in the hood ’cause if people see something out of the character that they portray you, they’ll try you.”

Last but not least, 50 told people to concentrate on their money. “Try to hold your paper,” he said. “It takes money to make money, so save your money. Opportunities come. If you don’t have finances to jump on them or at least room to support yourself while you’re tryin’ to move into new situations, then you can’t even evolve.

“Like, you may see someone in your neighbourhood that makes music or do whatever else. And I would say to the hood, get into the music business. This is the business that you have absolutely no requirements. You listen to music. You need no college degree.”

He added, “Matter of fact, you could’ve been whoopin’ some heads and people seen you and they afraid so they need you around for support. Some artists wanna portray that they gangsters. They need gangsters around em to support them to make them feel that. It’s OK to say that or portray what they are portraying because you co-signin’ it.”