S. Samuel
G-Unit leader 50 Cent has decided to cease being painted as the "bad guy" in rap beefs and will stop entertaining artists with diss records.
Speaking in an interview with radio personality Tim Westwood, Fif said he never sparked rap beefs.
“I don’t have…issues with people until they say things that make me feel like they want a problem,” said the Queens rapper. “Point to one situation that I’ve been in, one altercation where I was competing with another artist that I’ve started…Ain’t that hip-hop? There’s always been battling. It’s always been a part of the culture. In the future, because I’ve been kind of captured as the actual bad guy on some level because they watch me compete and win and it feels like it was effortless, I will [make] a point to not even respond. I’l just look and watch people when they say things.” (Hip Hop DX)
In a recent interview, 50 talked about his role in rap feuds.
“A lot of times, earlier in my career, I was competing with artists because that was what I loved about hip-hop: The idea that battling someone was necessary to defend your spot and you had to take on all challengers — so I did that constantly. No one thinks that way now and everyone looks at me like I’m the Broad Street Bully. The younger kids coming up missed that time frame, and even the conscious rap is gone too. The stuff that Common Sense and Talib Kweli and Mos Def were rhyming about. What was socially conscious and responsible about the music has been replaced by hipster kids in skinny jeans and mohawks. Of course, that’s always been around, but it was usually confined to the Village. Artists have always had the opportunity to influence the culture, but now it’s the other way around: They’re trying to look like their audience to attract their audience. Now you can’t tell the difference between a Led Zeppelin fan and a hip-hop fan.” (Los Angeles Times)
50’s ex-rap rival Rick Ross recently said he was trying to avoid getting caught up in beefs.
“That’s the beauty of art,” Ross told us. “You can take it and channel it any way you want to. Of course, I realize I put a lot of pollution out there as well that I wouldn’t this year. That was a part of me learning. I’ll forever be attracted to some form or fashion of war. I feel it’s competitive but at the same time, I’m focused on my numbers. I’m focused on my business. I’m focused on my brand. I wanna see other things blossom around me, versus back-and-forth with nothing. For the most part, I feel when you prioritize your business, that’s the result — that’s the advice I’ve been given for so long. I’m trying it out.” (MTV)
Aside from rap disputes, 50 updated fans on his upcoming Black Magic album earlier this month.
“I’ve written the album, Black Magic, but I’m not sure if it’ll be my next album,” 50 said in an interview. “Since I’ve made it back to America, after recording in the UK and different territories while I was on the road, I started writing material that don’t quite fit that concept, that album. Black Magic had a specific vibe to it, a different style of music and I was playing with different song structures, music from different genres like rock music — since I got back, I’ve been writing some things that don’t quite fit that because so many producers were accumulating material to send me more ideas so when I got back, I was kinda bombarded with a whole lot of production. To give you an example, Eminem‘s Recovery album. He had Relapse and Relapse 2 and I recorded for him on part two but because I was on tour with him during Recovery, we didn’t get a chance to work together on that album but he re-wrote the album.” (Rolling Stone Brasil)
Check out a recent 50 Cent interview below:
