In the world of hip-hop, feuds and rivalries have often served as fuel for some of the genre’s most iconic tracks. One such rivalry that has captured the attention of fans and the media for years is the feud between 50 Cent and Jay-Z. These two titans of the rap world have exchanged lyrical blows and subtle jabs, but did 50 Cent’s song ‘Flight 187’ truly serve as a diss track aimed at Jay-Z?
The song quickly grabbed headlines due to its aggressive lyrics and its potential references to Jay-Z. While it’s true that 50 Cent and Jay-Z have had their fair share of disagreements over the years, whether ‘Flight 187’ was a direct diss track remains a subject of debate among hip-hop enthusiasts.
“Why’s Jay rocking that Urkel look, man, isn’t he from Marcy?” rapped 50, continuing, “They say he’s growin’ dreads and now he’s talking like a Yardie”.
“It was the glasses,” 50 explained to MTV. “They saw the glasses. I didn’t Photoshop glasses on him. I think Jay is really conscious of his actual moves. He does those things to make a statement in different ways to create clarity that he doesn’t have to be the way people want him to be. He can do what he wants. But [I wrote the song] out of the perspective of me mentioning things I thought were interesting.”
However, 50 suggested that everyone missed the point and noted that he speaks about a lot of different people on his song: “I even wrote, ‘Em made me a star and Dre is taking a long time to mix my records. I gotta talk to Jimmy [Iovine] about it.’ I wrote about Britney Spears. I said a lot of interesting things on the record, but they focus on Jay because his album is releasing.”
“Of course, with those marketing dollars being spent, he’s the focus,” Fif confirmed. “The new XXL, there’s about 40 pages of Jay-Z on there. That boy is serious when it comes to his [Blueprint 3 album] layout. When it comes time for him to have companies market and promote him as a brand, he does a great job.”
The world of hip-hop is often shrouded in layers of wordplay, ambiguity, and strategic marketing, making it challenging to definitively say whether 50 Cent had Jay-Z in his crosshairs when he recorded the track. Ultimately, ‘Flight 187’ remains open to interpretation, leaving fans to ponder the true nature of its lyrical content and its connection to the ongoing 50 Cent vs. Jay-Z saga.
Listen to 50 Cent’s ‘Flight 187’ below.
