50 Cent talks to Tim Nasson
New York City – 50 Cent, his real name Curtis James Jackson III, just may be the only black gangster, turned superstar rapper who, at once, can endear not only the target rap audience – 11-22 year olds – but also, forty and fifty-something soccer moms. And here’s the reason why. It’s simple. At least the reason seemed apparent to me when I sat with Fifty, as he prefers to be called, by friends and strangers, alike.
Fifty Cent is a charmer. Beneath the hardcore, pimp/gangster exterior, is a meek, kind-hearted kid from Queens who knows where he comes from – not a lot of money – and where he is, and seems to appreciate it. The it being everything he has accomplished since nearly being shot to death almost a decade ago. Curtis Jackson’s mother was shot and his father ran out on him when he was eight. At that time he was taken in by his maternal grandparents. It wouldn’t be shocking to hear that Fifty once wanted to become a professional boxer, but the rapping bug got the best of him – and as they say – The rest is history.
And the history is quite a tangled web. As music producers go, they are a nasty, sleazy, less than human bunch, for the most part, who would sell their mothers and children, if they had any, to the devil. The producers Fifty had been associated with during his climb, were dreadful creatures. Some even speculate that one record studio executive was the one put the hit out on Fifty that ultimately resulted in him taking 9 bullets, two in the head. Most would have stopped there and moved on to a new career.
“Not me,” laughs Fifty, in a suite at a five star hotel in Manhattan, only a handful of miles from where he grew up. “I always had the passion, the desire to be a professional and successful singer. And I wasn’t going to stop until I succeeded. If dying got in the way then that was what was going to have to happen.”
Fifty has gotten rich and almost died tryin’, yet he is far from dead, now. But if it was not for Eminem, who knows what would have become of Curtis Jackson III.
“Eminem is my man,” says Fifty. And he is not kidding. Eminem mentioned Fifty Cent by name on a radio program on which he was a guest, going so far as to sing praises about Fifty. “He said something like ‘Fifty is my favorite rapper at the moment,'” says a humble Curtis Jackson. “And the next day the calls came pouring in, record companies fighting to sign him into a secure, bullet-proof contract. Ultimately, it was Eminem who signed Fifty to his own label, “Shady/Aftermath.”
Fifty’s new songs climbed the charts, both kids and their parents and grandparents who are fond of Pop Radio, humming to the tune of “In The Club.”
While the closest Fifty has come to professional boxing is buying Mike Tyson’s Connecticut mansion for over $4 million, he continues to fight to be the number one rapper and, now actor in the world.
“Get Rich Or Die Tryin,’ both the name of Fifty’s first album and first movie, now on DVD, continues to be his motto. “I am not going to stop working just because I have a little bit of money,” says Fifty. “It’s not just about the money. It’s about how successful I can become from working as hard as I can.” (Fifty Cent’s “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ CD was the biggest rap debut ever with 900,000 copies sold in its first week.)
No one would have ever guessed that an Irishman, known for art-house films such as “My Left Foot” and “In The Name of the Father,” would sign on to direct a black rapper and his posse in a semi-autobiographical film. “But he did,” laughs Fifty, “And I can’t think of any other director who could have done as good of a job on this movie.”
Fifty, after making his first movie, doesn’t rule out more time on the big screen.
“I like acting,” reveals Fifty. “But music is in my blood. But when I am in between albums and if the right character and script comes along, I would definitely jump at the chance to make another movie.”
Since my interview with Fifty Cent, he has signed on to his second movie, this one completely fictitious but no less artistically inferior to his debut. “Home Of The Brave” just began shooting and is being directed by another old white man, (Irwin Winkler, “De-Lovely”), and co-stars Jessica Biel, Samuel Jackson and Christina Ricci.
Before “Home Of the Brave” is released, get ready for 50 Cent’s third album. It should be in stores at the end of 2006.
“Get Rich Or Die Tryin,” the DVD, is now in stores.
