New York used to run hip-hop once upon a time ago. The mecca of the culture and genre existed as the forefront for years. Artists would gain their entire careers if they could make it in the concrete jungle New Yorkers call home. Whether a rapper was from there or not was besides the point. Even with the rise of the West Coast, hip-hop was still associated with NY. However, eventually, the hierarchy changed drastically. As artists like Jay-Z and 50 Cent sat at the top of their mountain, Atlanta carved out an extremely comfortable position at the top.
The internet only helped broaden the hip-hop ecosystem. Regions were emphasized even further, to the point it arguably rendered them indistinguishable for certain listeners. Meanwhile, New York ebbed and flowed aggressively over the years. In 2026, a lot of the great veterans quietly retreated from the studio mic to a podcast mic. From Cam’ron and Mase to Fat Joe and Jadakiss to Fabolous and Jim Jones, it has become quite the booming industry. Frankly, 50 Cent hates it.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, he lamented how the state of New York hip-hop has seen everyone pivot to podcasting. Moreover, he quipped that eventually, they’ll run out of people to interview because they’re all going to have their own platforms at the same time.
50 Cent Says Podcasting Ruined New York Hip-Hop
“New York City is turning into a podcast. The whole f*cking New York hip-hop is turning into a podcast. So there ain’t going to be nobody for them to interview because they’re all podcasters. They’ve got to go to everyone else’s podcast to interview each other because that much of it is turning into that. So now, do I respect them as journalists or do I respect them as artists?” 50 Cent questioned.
Admittedly, 50 said he wouldn’t be averse to producing a podcast. But to see him behind a microphone for his own, it’s unlikely. He’d much rather be the focal point of discussion than just another platform on the internet. “I think either you can be the content that they’re talking about or you can be the actual podcast itself. But if you listen to those podcasts, it’s very rare that I’m not being mentioned because everybody does better when the content kind of surrounds [me]. They click YouTube as soon as they see the 50 Cent sh*t on the tab. On your explore tab,” he said.
So if 50 doesn’t love the state of New York hip-hop right now, why doesn’t he try to change it? Elsewhere in the interview, he said that he’s interested in making music. However, he also wholeheartedly believes that rapping is a young man’s game.
“Look, I’m going to make music. I’m excited that this is the feeling,” 50 Cent said. “The general consensus is they want to hear something new from me, right? You can have the best verse, but I don’t think you should have the best verse at 50 years old. I think hip-hop is connected to youth culture and I think simplicity is the part of why it’s the best music.”
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