50 Cent Crushes Rap’s Sellout Image, Explains Hip-Hop’s Biggest Crossver

G-Unit head 50 Cent recently offered a take on the popularity of hip-hop artists putting down the microphone and cashing-in on high-profile business collaborations and explained why rap's "sellout" image has changed in recent years.

In Fif’s opinion, the decline in music sales over the last decade has forced hip-hop artists to seek alternative ways to make bank.

“With the music culture, you were a sellout to be a part of doing business with a major corporation,” he said. “You were considered a crossover from hard-core hip-hop. Now technology has changed how people consume music. Because music companies aren’t making as much as they were from CD sales, they’re not providing the marketing dollars. Now you see the biggest artists in a car commercial with their new song.” (CNBC)

The Unit leader also stressed how much time he puts into working.

“People who work for themselves work a lot harder,” he said. “For me, I don’t care what hour it is. If I can’t sleep, I work. I wake up at between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., because I know I have a project or have to get something done.” (CNBC)

Recently, Fif spoke on his headphones business SMS Audio competing with serious contenders like Dr. Dre‘s Beats By Dre due to its international appeal.

“I’ve launched SMS in 59 countries. We pretty much turned it into Adidas. Nike is strong in America, but internationally, Adidas has soccer. Huge. It’s a lot of different things and territories. I don’t know if it has a connection with my touring at those territories. If you’ve had huge success out there in the hip-hop culture over the past decade, you have the ability to tour in areas that weren’t open markets before.” (Complex)

In late December, Fif issued a statement to confirm NBA star Carmelo Anthony had joined his growing team.

“Carmelo Anthony is one of today’s premier athletes and is known globally for both his sportsmanship and his philanthropic endeavors,” said 50 Cent, CEO of SMS Audio. “He perfectly embodies the values behind SMS Audio and we’re excited to have him representing our brand – Providing Superior Sound Quality through Innovative Audio Products.” (Business Wire)

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