50 Cent’s origin is hip-hop canon at this point. He was shot in the face nine times and lived to tell the story. Not only that, but he became one of rap’s biggest superstars. After a monster mixtape run, Get Rich or Die Trying certified 50 as a giant amongst his peers, one of the most successful hip-hop albums ever. It’s all miraculous, unparalleled lore and legend that keep him relevant to this day. 25 years later, 50 Cent is reflecting on such a traumatic time in his life and how it didn’t necessarily guarantee stardom.
Recently, 50 spoke with Fox News where he opened up about the horrific night in 2000. There, he admits that his career was the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, it all circled back to figuring out how to be self sufficient.
“I wasn’t thinking about a CD,” 50 Cent laughs. “As soon as you feel fine, the doctors are telling you you’re fine, you’re going to recover and you look and you go, ‘Whoa, what am I going to do?’ The record company is not answering the phone anymore, everything is changing, and then it’s like you got to figure out how to do it on your own.”
50 Cent Opens Up About How His Career Spun Out After 2000 Shooting
Obviously, with the lack of a streaming network like there is today, 50 went through a variety of hurdles to make sure he was heard. Once distribution was taken care of, everything else fell into place. “We were in a different climate, so I couldn’t do anything that the new artists can do. They go record and upload music to YouTube and Apple iTunes,” 50 Cent explains. “I had to trick bootleggers into thinking to steal it so they could reproduce it and distribute it for me, ’cause there were no other outlets to get it out.”
Additionally, the shooting made him rethink his album marketing. Initially, the album name was Power of a Dollar. Obviously, the shooting created a new context to his life and career. Consequently, he shifted gears accordingly and named his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The rest was history.
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