The rapper 50 Cent thinks had a bigger impact on hip-hop than Jay-Z: “Opens up doors, windows, everything”
When it comes to the most impactful emcee in hip-hop, the list could vary depending on who you ask. Many of the prominent rappers in the late 1970s and early 1980s could be considered the most influential, as they helped build the genre from the ground up. A lot of hip-hop fans would point to a figure like Jay-Z, but 50 Cent definitely doesn’t agree with these people.
As a native New Yorker, Fifty has seen and heard many of the biggest, most well-known rap acts come to prominence. Whether it’s LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Biggie Smalls or Jay-Z, the city has undoubtedly produced some of the most culturally significant rappers. Still, he isn’t convinced when people tell him Jay-Z is the most groundbreaking figure to touch a microphone.
In 2022, during an appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaq, hosted by Shaquille O’Neal, former NBA player Jamal Crawford argued that Jay-Z has had a more significant impact on hip-hop than Eminem despite the fact that he has sold fewer albums.
Crawford explained that the rappers in his top five most impactful list aren’t there because of their record sales but more because of their cultural power, stating, “In my five, the dominance outweighs the numbers. Like, Jay-Z’s effect on hip-hop is bigger than any album sales that Eminem will have…you see what I’m saying? That’s just how it goes.”
Still, 50 Cent wasn’t receptive to what he believed to be an utterly invalid claim and, taking to Instagram, the ‘In Da Club’ rhymer reshared the podcast footage with the caption, “Ha Bullshit.” Before Outkast surpassed him, Eminem had the highest-selling hip-hop album of all time, and, when taking into account every project in his discography, he remains the best-selling hip-hop artist ever.
According to official Universal Music statistics, the Encore creator has sold over 220 million albums worldwide, produced two Diamond-certified projects, and topped the charts more times than he can count. 50 Cent sees this and has long claimed that Eminem doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions to the world of hip-hop. In an interview with Vibe magazine, the Massacre creator explained, “I think Eminem is more important to hip-hop than people actually credit him for!”
The Power creator then explained how, regardless of race, Eminem has done things for MCs today that they don’t even know, expressing, “Just black music in general… when it loses its colour, artists and people that have been so invested in it, come into it, put their passion in it, and they actually become that good at it? That opens up doors, windows, everything.”
That said, when one considers the effect of Eminem on hip-hop more broadly, he most definitely opened the door for figures such as the late Mac Miller, Jack Harlow, and Aesop Rock to enter the culture smoothly and get, at the least, a listen—something many white rappers weren’t granted before his arrival.
Speaking about how the 8 Mile creator indirectly helped hip-hop evolve by doing precisely this, Fifty told Vibe, “It opens the door for a [Macklemore]. Those artists are really important to the growth of our actual culture. And if you see what hip-hop has done for me, it’s allowed me to travel the world and to meet people from different walks and ethnicities, and allow me to broaden my perspective on life, period. There’s nothing as beautiful as what can happen with hip-hop music and culture.”
However, whether or not Eminem has had a sustained career with quality control is debatable. The Slim Shady LP creator has undoubtedly sold a lot of records, but many would argue at least half of his discography has been released to mixed reviews and, unlike Jay-Z, hasn’t built a visible or culturally significant empire outside of music.