Is 50 Cent Worth A Dime?

By Keith Boykin, in music
Monday, December 23 2002, 12:19AM

Rap artist 50 Cent is hot. Tagged as the artist to watch in 2003, 50 will release his new album on February 11, under the direction of Eminem. But with all the talk about Eminem softening up recently to appeal to a broader audience, don't expect 50 Cent to give you soft music.

Like Eminem, 50 Cent's music is racist, sexist and homophobic. And like many other so-called "hard" rap artists, 50 is incredibly materialistic and violent.

Violence in rap

While sitting in a car in Queens in May of 2000, 50 Cent was shot in the face, hands and legs, but he managed to survive. Still, in much of his music, he brags about violence and weapons.

I got the sickest vendetta when it come to the cheddar
Nigga you play with my paper, you gonna meet my berreta

Apparently, 50 has a death wish. His new CD hasn't even been released and already he's got a feud with Murder Inc. and Ja Rule, who 50 says is a "clown." But it's 50 who comes off looking like the clown.

"The last thing I would wanna be labeled is a murderer," he said in an interview with Tupac-Online, but his music says exactly the opposite.

His mentor Jam Master Jay of Run DMC was slain in Queens in the fall, but that doesn't appear to have changed 50's lyrics.

Homophobic Lyrics

For someone who has survived 9 bullet wounds, 50 cent is remarkably unrepentant. "I’m not with the “Save The Children’s Fund. I don’t give a fuck about another nigga kids, just my kid,” he said in an interview quoted on RapArtistDirect.com He claims he is always armed and ready.

In "Places to Go" on Eminem's new 8 Mile soundtrack, 50 raps:

Smith and Wesson's the weapon in case you was guessin', escape lesson
Caps in my benze, I'm beginning to end
Watch the 22 spin, My hoes a perfect ten
I got shot but I got up and I'm back at it again

His music also descends to the levels of homophobia. In his new single, "In Da Club," 50 says:

I'm that cat by the bar, toasting to the good light
You that faggot ass nicca trying to pull me back ride

What else would we expect from Eminem's protege?

Nobody expects a recording artist to be a saint. That's not the issue. But when publicity-hungry wannabe hardcore rap artists influence young people with their stupidity, why do we keep supporting them? Even if the music is good, aren't there enough young black men in jail already? Can't somebody tell 50 Cent to wake up, or does that infringe on his right to musical autonomy?

I'm not trying to be the morality police, but damn, why do we keep promoting the 50 Cents of the world to represent hip hop?

With Dr. Dre and Eminem in his corner, and now with the designation as the artist to watch in the coming year, 50 Cent is sure to be a big hit in the coming months. In fact, he will be hosting the MTV2 "Hip Hop Show" tonight, Monday, December 23 at 10 p.m.

If 50 Cent is the best that music has to offer in the coming year, what does that say for the rest of us who buy this stuff?

© Copyright 2002 by Keith Boykin.