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rapper who is exceedingly talented at making the most of today’s
hashtag world, but not everyone
does it so gracefully. While he abstains from criticizing the current
generation of rappers wholesale, 50
agrees that part of the problem is
that today’s performers are so eager
to find and chase the latest trend.
“I think it was a big problem 10
years ago too, but we didn’t have
the social media to see it,” he says.
“When you have artists that don’t
have a Plan B, they have to emulate what’s working. If you have no
choice and what you’re doing has to
work, you go, ‘What’s working right
now?’ And you try to make a song
MUSIC
that sounds like what’s playing
on the radio, even if it’s not what
you would do as an artist. And you
can do it, but not as good as the
guy who is in his pocket when he’s
doing it.” (50 says he has no favorite rappers, only favorite “moments,” but he thinks Drake is a
guy who seems to always “be in his
pocket,” which is “relationshipbased content.”)
Ten years ago, 50 was “what’s
playing on the radio,” and a “bottle
full of bub” was all mainstream
partiers used to underwrite their
club nights. While that single —
and 50’s ensuing string of hits
(“Magic Stick,” “Disco Inferno,”
“Just a Lil Bit,” “Piggy Bank,” “21
Questions,” “So Seductive,” “Candy Shop”) set the pace for radio-
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
50 Cent
performs
during a
Motorola
launch party
in New
York City
in October
2011.