S. Samuel
G-Unit leader 50 Cent recently revealed the motive behind his new War Angel mixtape which he says will spark a return to non-commercial rap.
To back up his point, Fif pointed out the industry’s change in “hard” rhymes once his debut album dropped in 2003.
“I think it will change [rappers’ direction] when they see the public respond to it in a positive way that’ll actually allow them to be creative in different areas again and just do what they want,” Fif explained. “It’s all by example. When Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ came out, everything shifted, because they watching it be the largest debuting album to date. 822,000 copies the first week and then another 800,000 copies the next week, they go, ‘Ah man, that’s what I wanna do.’ And then the other artists start doing their version of 50 Cent, we don’t want that but we want them to be able to write their actual story or what they see going on around them.” (This Is 50)
Fif recently said he began writing with the mind state of an unsigned artist.
“I’m ambitious,” Fif said in an interview. “I don’t think I’ll ever achieve enough. I’ll always be after something or I’ll find a new interest or a new passion to establish something else…At this point, I wanted to do something that wasn’t commercial, the whole CD pretty much…The guy that’s trying to get a record deal right now, he should be writing with very strong passion…Right now, he’s in competition with 50 Cent, and I’m writing like I need a record deal. It’s tough for him…I can write at that pace and achieve what I want. You won’t say there’s a lack of quality in [War Angel].” (MTV)
50 previously said the popularity of R&B and hip-hop music together contributed to Dr. Dre‘s Detox delay.
“Dre is actually working,” Fif promised in an interview with DJ Enuff. “I heard eight records. When it takes this long, I’ma tell you what I heard. I heard eight and Em said it’s ten. So it’s probably two I didn’t get a chance to hear. I think [the wait] actually builds more pressure. Are you trying to get it or are you trying to scare the sh*t out of ’em? I know, its been taking him a long time. [He’s also] so critical of himself at the same time. You know what it is too, I look at it like this. I love some of the things he thinks that are just ‘good’… I kinda feel like I can gauge what is necessary at this point…When’s the last time you heard a hip-hop record that didn’t have an R&B chorus in the Top 10? You understand what I’m saying. It’s changing hip-hop music to the point where it’s necessary for you to have an R&B artist or perform like an R&B artist on the hook…You can tell the deejay to slow down but when motherf*cking [Black Eyed Peas‘ ] ‘Boom Boom Pow’ is No. 1, how you gonna tell the artist what to make?” (The B-Side)
Aside from music, he will be launching his own fragrance later this year.
Set to debut at Macy’s stores, Power by 50 Cent is the first launch for the newly formed Lighthouse Beauty, which is comprised of artist managers at Brand Asset Management, the celebrities they represent, and developers and distributors of luxury fragrances. Lighthouse Beauty is helmed by Chris Lighty, Howard Sherman of Mod Beauty, Philip Zellner of Product King Marketing, World Source Marketing Group, 111 Design and Edge Display, and Glenn Nussdorf, a major shareholder of Parlux, Perfumania and Quality King. (Women’s Wear Daily)
His forthcoming Before I Self Destruct album is set to drop September 2009 via Interscope.
Check out 50 Cent’s interview below:
