The first time 50 Cent met Eminem: “It was wild”
50 Cent, despite the cool, tough veneer, has proven to have once been every bit as susceptible to nerves as anyone else.
Before he made it as a rapper, actor and businessman, 50 was just a young man trying to make it in the tricky world of show business. That isn’t something you can do alone, as it’s about meeting the right people to help you on your way. In 50 Cent’s case, that person was Eminem.
Following his brutal shooting in 2000, during which he took and survived nine bullets, 50 set about recovering and trying to build up his rap career. He recorded multiple songs and released them as mixtapes, hoping to get the right people to hear them and sign him. Eventually, the songs caught the attention of Eminem, and, in 2002, he invited 50 to Los Angeles to meet with him.
Appearing on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast in 2024, 50 recalled how nervous he’d been that first time he met Em. “It was wild,” he remarked. “Remember that show they had, Punk’d, on MTV? I thought they had cameras and they was gonna come out and say, ‘You’ve been Punk’d.’”
50 couldn’t believe that he was on his way to meet Eminem, who’d recently become a superstar and global sensation. The fact he was interested in 50 seemed too good to be true, and 50 couldn’t let his guard down.
Not only was 50 worried that Eminem’s interest in him might have been weaker than he’d hoped, but he was also nervous about meeting in LA. He’d recently been shot, after all, and he was a New Yorker showing up on the West Coast. He had his concerns about that, so he went to the meeting in his bulletproof vest.
“I get there,” 50 recalled of his meeting with Em, “he’s like, ‘Yo!’ Hugs me, feel the vest and shit and was like…” 50 then pulled a shocked expression, recreating the surprise that Eminem had expressed when he’d showed up wearing his armour. But, undeterred, Em continued to express excitement at meeting 50.
But even though that was a positive sign, 50 Cent still felt uneasy about it. “It felt so good that it couldn’t be right,” he said. Given how big a star Eminem had recently become, 50 couldn’t conceive that Em’s enthusiasm for him was genuine. But it was.
Eminem signed 50 to his Shady Records label, and, together with Dr Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, he helped to release 50’s first album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003. It became a sensation in its own right.