On this day 28 years ago, 50 Cent made his big debut on a major label. However, it’s not quite how a lot of fans may remember it. Before he was shot nine times, dissed everyone in the music industry, and signed to Dr. Dre, he cut his teeth with a guest feature on Onyx’s “React“.
This massive opportunity happened due to 50’s connection to the late, iconic Jam Master Jay. In his book From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside, Queens, he recalled being dead broke beforehand. But the favor from his mentor secured his spot early. Moreover, DJ Funkmaster Flex liked the song enough that Onyx shot a video for the single.
“After being broke for a few months, Jam Master Jay got me on a song called ‘React’, the third single from Onyx’s Shut ‘Em Down. At the time we did the song, no one expected it to be a single,” 50 Cent recalled. “They just put me on the song as a favor to Jay because I was the new n***a in his camp.”
50 was pretty vocal about finding the music video itself extremely dumb. “The video concept called for us to be hockey players. I thought it was a stupid-a** idea. It may have been a good idea to try to cross over and get the white folks’ attention,” he said.
50 Cent gets His Big Start with a Guest Verse on the Onyx Single ‘React’
Like a lot of 50’s connections, though, their collaboration eventually ended in beef. During Def Jam’s Survival Of The Illest concert in 1998, rapper Scarred for Life filled in for the then-unknown Queens rapper. Evidently, 50 didn’t take kindly to being left out from performing at the Apollo Theater.
Consequently, in typical 50 Cent fashion, he unleashed a litany of disses, including on his infamous “How to Rob” in 1999. By the time he’d become massive in 2003, he’d reunite with the group. Fredro Starr of Onyx went over to G-Unit during rehearsals for the VIBE Awards for a peaceful interaction. But eventually, 50 took his swing at Starr, and the pair haven’t spoken since.
Naturally, Fredro Starr didn’t take kindly to the offense. Years later, he found the whole exchange with 50 Cent despicable. “50 is a smart businessman, and at the end of the day, we gave him respect. We put him on records when we was at the top of the game. He didn’t even have a car,” Starr told AllHipHop in 2008. “We gave him respect on the strength of Jam Master Jay. What did we get in return? Someone talking slick on mixtapes? Swinging on n***as?”
The post 28 Years Ago Today, 50 Cent Made His Major Label Debut With a Guest Verse on a Track With a ‘Stupid-A**’ Music Video appeared first on VICE.
