In the 2000s, 50 Cent was a force to be reckoned with as a young, aggressive rapper hungry for success, following his debut mixtape, Guess Who’s Back? 50 Cent not only provided fans with quality music but also revived hip hop’s competitive edge.
Born and raised in the South Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens in New York, 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) was discovered by Eminem thanks to the unstoppable buzz that surrounded him. However, in 1999, an incident involving Queens rapper Ja Rule would mark the beginning of a beef between 50 Cent and Ja Rule that would continue long into the next decade.
According to many sources, in 1999, Ja Rule was robbed at gunpoint in Queens, and according to the rapper himself, the robbery was undertaken by an affiliate of 50 Cent. Following the incident, the two rappers had an altercation at a club, during which Ja Rule began berating members of G-Unit.
When news got out about the altercation, Ja Rule (real name Jeffrey Atkins) played down the incident, declaring that there had been a minor misunderstanding. However, recollections of that night varied and later that year, 50 Cent was stabbed by an unknown perpetrator.
From here, things got serious, with the two entering into a bubbling beef. However, the feud wasn’t just between the two rappers—their respective crews would also enter the fray, causing an uncomfortable and volatile Murder Inc. versus G-Unit conflict. Although it made for good entertainment in the hip hop world, it most definitely affected the career of Ja Rule.
As a result of this beef, 50 Cent turned down a $1.3 record million deal, as disclosed by the rapper in a recent interview. Speaking with Brian J Roberts, 50 referenced an interview Irv Gotti did in 2020 in which he admitted he blocked deals for 50 Cent.
Referencing the 2020 appearance, Jackson stated, “Irv was in the interview talking about how he was blocking me, how he blocked everything, how he blocked me into a good situation.” He continued, “I wouldn’t do business with people who had direct associations or any influence to the things they had that was working. So even Dino Delvaille came, he offered me $1.3 million to do G-Unit, and my solo album at Universal and I just turned the deal down.”
Jackson recalled how his crew members reacted, revealing, “Tony Yayo didn’t understand. He was like, ‘What! A million, and you not gonna do it?!’ [For him] That’s like hitting the lotto, and you not gonna pick up the ticket. But I was like, ‘Nah, it’s not the right deal’ because it was in the Universal System, Def Jam was there, and those guys were already making money for that system, where they could influence and sabotage everything I had going!” He lauded Eminem revealing, “It took for Em to come for this to work!”
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
