S. Samuel
G-Unit general 50 Cent is calling his own shots these days and said rather than rushing out a new project prematurely, he has decided to follow in the footsteps as rap stars like Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Over the weekend, Fif said while he hopes to drop a new project by early 2012, his focus is on making quality records and having a strong marketing campaign.
“I want to come out at the top of the year, I want to be ready, but, you know, of course it’s all on how everybody else puts together their actual marketing campaign and get it right,” 50 said in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid. “I don’t have a timeline anymore. I’m doing the Dr. Dre. I’m doing what Eminem does. I’ve been on a shot clock my entire career. ‘I’ve gotta come out during this period. I’ve got to come out during this period.’ Like, every other year. My albums are so successful that it would take me a year to get done touring off of them. I may not necessarily tour off of this album. I might release it and decide I’m going to make the next one instead of actually going out and touring and let everybody live with that and do something different. Or they’ll see me at spot dates.” (Shade 45)
Recently, the New York rapper detailed an emphasis on channeling fellow hip-hop artists like Nas.
“I don’t see what I fell in love with,” he says. “So now I gotta make music that reflects what N.W.A made. I have to make music that has the moments that Nas had. I have to make music that has what Biggie offered.” He also discusses his currently untitled 5th solo album: “For me, I’m still up against what I’ve done,” he says. “So in order to top it, I know it’s a difficult task. You know, I see the bloggers. My audience hasn’t grown with me. They keep saying, “Aw, man, I want the old 50!” ‘Cause those people, it would take them on a safari. I was bringing them close enough to the animals, without being able to get hurt. I was taking them into my neighborhood, where you can very well get your a** killed.” (XXL Mag)
Prior to scraping Black Magic last year, 50 said he was drawing inspiration from the late Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
He calls the album a whole new sound for him, and describes it as “more soulful” and “more mature” than his past work. For inspiration, he says he’s listening to a mix he made of some of his favorite artists’ best songs, including 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. “I listen to those records to create expectations,” says 50, who turns 35 in July. “It creates a level to me, within myself, of how good the record has to be before I’m ready to launch it.” (Detroit Free Press)
Last month, DJ Whoo Kid offered his take on 50’s delayed follow-up.
“He wants it to come out but he’s dealing with label sh*t too,” Whoo Kid said about 50 Cent’s album delay. “It’s like the politics of when to drop and you gotta understand there’s competition with other people too. So labels are just, like, maneuvering when to drop ’cause I know he did, most of it is done. Like 95 percent of it is finished so he wants it to come out and if it was up to him it would but I may assume it’s the labels that’s f*cking with him but at the end of the day I heard like nine joints that’s crazy. I wish I had it now so I could f*cking make some serious money off of it myself, but, you’ll hear it soon.” (Amaru Don TV)
Check out 50 Cent’s interview below:
