S. Samuel
G-Unit leader 50 Cent recently spoke on not comparing himself to rap newcomer Drake due to their different music content and his decision not to make R&B records.
For Fif, his music is more aggressive and violent than what Drake offers.
“I guess he’s cool,” 50 said in an interview. “He has momentum with his music, but the things that he’s able to do are things that I’m not permitted to do ’cause of the perception of me. The aggression in my music is translated the strongest and they expect that from me every time. It kinda works for me and works against me at different points. [Drake’s] a great singer also; we like the part when he starts to sing on the chorus. He just put out a whole R&B song [“Find Your Love”]–like there’s no rap on it, it’s just an R&B record. That is what Kanye West was permitted to do with 808s & Heartbreak, to make a complete love song or an R&B record. I won’t be permitted to do that because they expect me to kill someone on the song. They just want that from me because I’ve had that type of energy in my actual experience and they feel like it’s special or authentic in some way when I offer that.” (Rap-Up)
Last summer, 50 compared his 2003 industry buzz to Drake’s recent popularity.
“I don’t think you can accomplish that right now,” Fif said in an interview. “Not without finance. I hear his record on the radio. He got a good buzz, I hear him. Sh*t, it wasn’t possible for my music to be on the radio when I was coming. You know mine’s was completely organic. Like when you hear a song on the radio, it means it’s being worked. Ain’t nothing there ‘just because.’ Enough for it to be playing every hour on the hour. That song is being worked like he’s on the label. I’m sure Syliva Rhone or Universal, they’re spending money to get the [‘Best I Ever Had’] played so the public is feeling like it’s just happening. He might not be signed yet, but they might work it to get him to sign. Is it worth signing until you develop that?” (XXL Mag)
50 also shared his thoughts of Jay-Z doing the “Off That” Drake collaboration last year.
“[Lil Wayne] has that new kid, what’s his name, Drake,” Fif said in an interview. “The kid is coming up. I heard Jay-Z got him on his single. Right? That was ill, like, that was fast! For him to put him on his single, like that’s ill. I don’t know if he’s rhyming or singing but the fact that he’s on it is hot. Like that was a fast come-up. Jay won’t even rap on his own artists and be in the video with ’em. Freeway, he did Freeway dirty. In the Freeway project, we were doing something together. It was all of us together, Jay had a record with Freeway and I said ‘If you shoot that one, I’ll shoot the one that I did with him and we’ll make the video.’ Now tell me that ain’t the perfect scenario for Freeway.” (Hot 97)
50 nemesis Fat Joe compared 50 and Drake in an interview last April.
“Two very different artists…As far as I’m concerned, [50 Cent] had one hot album, and his first album was a classic and that’s it. After that everything else was bubble gummed down. So Drake, I think he will outlast 50 Cent. If you talk about 50 Cent on top really making hot music it didn’t even last two, three, four years. Looking at the quality of the music that Drake is making and the different lanes–he wrote that song for Alicia Keys, ‘Unthinkable’–I think we ain’t seen nobody like him yet.” (VIBE)
Check out a recent 50 Cent interview below:
