How 50 Cent accidentally damaged Killer Mike’s career: “My first record deal damaged me”
Killer Mike has had a career of ups and downs. Earlier this year, at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the Atlanta lyricist picked up four awards for his album Michael. However, it has taken him a long time to get recognition, and during the early 2000s, the ‘Scientists & Engineers’ rhymer had many issues with his career.
During an interview, Killer Mike revealed that 50 Cent and his dominance during the 2000s indirectly “damaged” his career. More specifically, the musician spoke about the self-doubt he had when he first signed a record deal with Columbia Records and how 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ affected him.
Fifty’s debut album was an instant hit. However, although Killer Mike’s 2003 debut, Monster, sold 500,000 units in America, its international performance was poor. Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 872,000 copies in its first week and managed to sell 10 million worldwide within a week.
Reflecting on his debut, Killer Mike explained, “My first record deal damaged me. It made me afraid; it pulled me back. I hadn’t done terribly on the major. I just, you know, I came out the same year as 50 [Cent], selling 10 million f**king records. I sold, you know, 500,000.”
After his experience with Columbia, Killer Mike admitted that it pushed him towards “independent circles” and made him more inclined to do business with small, lowkey independent labels that weren’t placing pressure on him. Although his album Monster was not a hit, in 2003, the rapper earned a Grammy for ‘Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group’ alongside Outkast as a featured artist on their single ‘The Whole World’.
2003 was a big year for rap music overall. From the release of 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and Jay-Z’s The Black Album to the release of DMX’s Grand Champ and Neptunes Present…Clones, the amount of music was unfathomable, and the competition was fierce. Fans still play songs such as ‘In Da Club’ and Pharrell’s ‘Frontin’ to this day and, as such, it is unsurprising that Killer Mike found it tough to cut through the noise.
During his interview with SPIN, Killer Mike gave an update about the location of his longtime friend and collaborator from Atlanta, André 3000, revealing, “André 3000, he’s in Japan right now as we talk, playing the flute. He called me, he’s like, ‘Kill, I don’t know about the song, man. We just got a good rap record, man.’
He continued, “And then Cuz [Lightyear] was like, ‘You sent him the final record?’ I’m like, ‘Nah.’ I sent it over with Eryn’s hook and stuff. He hit back with, ‘Yeah, yeah, you got the record. Who is that?!’ So thank you, Eryn, I really appreciate you for that.”
Last year, the Atlanta emcee released his critically acclaimed project, which featured various legendary artists rapping and singing alongside the lyricist to create magic. From CeeLo Green to André 3000 and JID, the body of work saw figures such as Zane Lowe hail Render for his creativity.