S. Samuel
G-Unit's 50 Cent recently talked about his annual appearance on Forbes Magazine's wealthiest rappers lists and why he is unfazed by his placement.
In Fif’s perspective, the fact he seamlessly and nearly effortlessly finds himself on the lists is reason to acknowledge his success.
“I been on the Forbes list 10 years straight – consecutively,” he said in an interview. “When I came on the Forbes [list] this year, I’m like, ‘Would you look at that? I’m still there.’ I’ve been on a motherf*cking lunch break – I’ve been on vacation and I’m still there. Now I’m telling you I’m hustling in a different way and it’s paying off. If you look at it, I ain’t put an album out in three years, and I’m still in the list? Okay, let’s see the other guys do that.” (AHH)
A few weeks ago, rap mogul Diddy talked about recently landing atop the popular rundown.
“I’m usually at No. 1,” Diddy said in an interview. “Our plan was to always flip-flop on it. This was the year I told him that we had to flop it back to its original owner. We push each other, we inspire each other. It’s just a beautiful relationship of natural competitiveness. But you know, it’s back at Bad Boy.” (Hot 97)
Back in April, the G-Unit general also downplayed the hype behind Forbes’ lists.
“The Forbes list is fine, but I’m still on the wrong list. I need to be on the [Fortune] 500, the company list without it actually being hip-hop. In order to do that, we gotta do business on a whole other levell,” Fif said in an interview. “[Record sales?] I can be concerned about being relevant to the culture and recapturing the energy you had once upon a time, not an actual number. It’s not even about the actual number on sales.” (Shade 45)
The G-Unit rapper fell behind hip-hop elite like Diddy ($550 million) and Jay-Z ($460 million) on the list.
Dr. Dre ranks third with $270 million, doubling from a year ago thanks to a major sale. In August, handset maker HTC paid $300 million to buy a 51% stake in Beats Electronics, the company founded by Dr. Dre and Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2008. Birdman clocks in at No. 4 with a fortune of $125 million. He cofounded Cash Money Records with brother Ronald “Slim” Williams two decades ago, inking very favorable $30 million distribution deal with Universal in 1998. Rounding out the Forbes Five is Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson at $110 million. The Queens-born rapper earned $100 million on the sale of his Vitaminwater stake in 2007–and tens of millions more from touring, record sales and clothing–but spent freely on cars and renovations to his mansion, formerly owned by Mike Tyson. (Forbes)
Check out a recent 50 Cent interview below:
