The biggest misconception about 50 Cent, according to 50 Cent
50 Cent’s public image, at least in its early days, very much sought to project a gangsta sort of vibe. All the tropes of the lifestyle were there to see, but 50 believes that people got the wrong idea about him as a result.
Alongside the popularity of 50 Cent’s music following the release of his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003, a mythology developed around the rapper and his criminal past. He had been a drug dealer from a young age, and his criminal activities culminated, in the end, with him getting shot nine times in 2000.
This story played a big part in 50 Cent’s persona at the start of his career, which really started to take off in the aftermath of his shooting. He concentrated more on making it as a rapper, and, within a few years, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ had come out and he became a massive success.
The music itself was very gangsta in nature, while lyrically it dealt with many of the themes that one might expect from gangsta rap. But this world that he was describing in his music was not actually the one that he lived in anymore. For all his gangsta posturing, he was a musician and businessman now.
50 admitted this himself during an interview with IGN in 2005, when he characterised people’s perception of him as a gangster as the “biggest misconception” when it came to judging his character.
“Because,” he explained, “I can be those things that people—I have a reputation. My past is my shadow, it follows me everywhere I go. Well, all those things come from when I had no other choice. They put my back against the wall. I do what I gotta do.”
50 argued that his old life of crime had been born out of necessity, but, after he’d made it as a rapper, he’d moved on. He didn’t need to actually live a “gangsta” lifestyle anymore, because his music and business career had taken over. But people, at the time, still spoke of him as if he was still living his old life.
50 was very happy to project a certain image as part of his act, but it wasn’t actually a reflection of reality. He wasn’t really a gangster anymore. In the same way, he would often reference drink and drugs in his music, but he didn’t actually take them. It was all about vibes.
Nowadays, the public arguably does view 50 Cent in a manner more fitting of his actual lifestyle. His business ventures and movies form a big part of his public image these days. Gone are the gangsta references and bulletproof vests.