How 50 Cent went from a nobody to a superstar in six years: “Jay was the one who introduced me to him”
Many interesting and exciting rappers emerged during the early-2000s. The era produced many household names, from Lil Wayne to Eminem and Kanye. However, one musician-turned-media mogul ruled the airwaves and took over hip-hop during this period, and that is the legendary 50 Cent.
The rapper exploded onto the scene in 2003 and, in no time, was competing with the likes of Jay-Z concerning record sales. Although Jackson wasn’t known internationally until 2003, he had been a formidable force on the New York underground for an extended period before he stepped into the limelight.
Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ act had signed various deals before partnering with Shady Records. However, nothing had come of them. Still, he had an interesting come-up involving many well-known names in New York who could tell he had star potential.
One industry head who saw Fifty rise from behind the scenes was Sha Money XL, a well-known record producer and manager. Sha Money, who also has an A&R at Def Jam, was present in the early part of 50 Cent’s career and saw him grow into an international sensation.
During a recent interview, he spoke about first meeting the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ creator, recalling, “I first met 50 when I was going to NYU. I was interning for Def Jam Records and Jam Master Jay took me in. I was mentored by him and he always had me around. [This was] at the office of Def Jam back in 160 Varick days. I want to say this was ’97 or ’98. Whenever he was signed to Jam Master Jay, that’s when I met him.”
During the late ’90s, Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay was a producer for up-and-coming East Coast acts. With his studio based in the Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens, it is unsurprising that he ran into 50 Cent during the early stages of his career, as this is where Jackson lived with his grandmother. The late Run-DMC icon also found several other local acts.
During his interview, Sha Money XL placed great importance on Jamp Master Jay, emphasising, “Jay was the one who introduced me to him. The connection was Jay was playing me new Lost Boyz, Onyx, Joe Sinister, Suga (Sweet T) and then playing me this one kid, and I was like who is that? And he was like, that’s this new kid Boo Boo, 50 Cent. Jam Master Jay’s studio was in Rosedale, Queens. He had a studio in a basement over there. He said 50 this is a young, hungry producer, and y’all should connect.”
Sha Money XL even opened up about one of 50 Cent’s first tracks, revealing, “He was signed to Jay first. He had a 12-inch vinyl called ‘The Hit’ with Jam Master Jay. He was the one that groomed 50 and showed him how to make hooks, when to stop rapping. Then he met The Trackmasters and Corey Rooney in the process and Corey Rooney took him to Trackmasters.”
However, shortly after his collaboration with the Trackmasters, things went wrong for the emcee. Explaining the order of events, Sha Money told OkayPlayer, “[The Trackmasters] put him on this trial. He was gonna leave with 36 Trackmasters tracks. He took full advantage of the opportunity. And at that moment, I produced the title track, ‘Power Of The Dollar’. The week before he was supposed to shoot the video, he got shot. From that May to September he was in full rehabilitation. His mouth was wired shut and he was fucked up.”
50 Cent’s shooting was a blessing and a curse for him because although it saw him dropped from Columbia, it left him free to sign with Shady Records in 2002, and the rest is history.