50 Cent: "Get rich or die a homo"

"Get rich or die tryin'" is the adage to live by, according to Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, the unofficial king of bullets, bitches and bling bling. And the riches don’t seem to be dwindling for the rap star, who just starred in his debut film, Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Money is so crucial to Fiddy that he’s been expanding his G-Unit empire on a daily basis. To bank off his own musical success and follow in his mentor Eminem’s footsteps, he’s created G-Unit Records, a branch of Interscope. In addition to producing multi-platinum albums for his G-Unit soldiers Lloyd Banks, Young Buc, Tony Yayo and the recently ousted Game, he has just signed rap duo Mobb Deep and rapper-turned-minister-turned rapper again Ma$e. 50 is also set to launch Olivia, G-Unit’s First Lady, with her new R&B album dropping in early 2006.

And like many musicians these days, he owns an urban clothing line (guess the name) and a small corner of Reebok with a sneaker line, G-Unit Footwear.

World conquest doesn’t end there, however.

50 has gone digital with his own video game, "Bulletproof," which features the rapper in his natural ambience, shooting up thugs and hustling on the streets of New York. The Playstation 2 game features new music and freestyle rhymes from the rapper.

50 recently delved into the world of publishing with his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight, which again reminds fans that he was shot nine times during his street hustling days. He’ll continue to endorse literacy with his new venture, G-Unit Books—“a new line of hip-hop novellas and graphic novels” of the “street” variety ("50 Cent to launch ‘street fiction’ book line”).

And to reward 50 for all his public endeavors, GQ Magazine has just named him one of its “Men of the Year” along with "wedding crasher" Vince Vaughn and, um, Jennifer Aniston.

There’s no question that Mr. Jackson is gettin’ rich. But at what price?

Back in 2002 50 Cent made it clear with his first commercial single “Wanksta” that he wasn’t making music to make friends. In fact, his famous feud with rapper Ja Rule has spawned more headlines than his so-called musical proficiency. 50, along with Eminem and the rest of his G-Unit crew, has exchanged many a word with Ja and his Murda Inc. posse.

50 has even taken (verbal) shots at anyone associated with Ja Rule, including Jadakiss and Fat Joe, who collaborated with Ja on the track “New York, New York.” 50 disses them and rapper Nas on “Piggy Bank,” in which he raps, “That fat nigga [Fat Joe] thought ‘Lean Back’ was ‘In Da Club/My shit sold 11 mil, his shit was a dud/Jada, don’t fuck wit me if you wanna eat/Cause I’ll do your lil’ ass like Jay did Mobb Deep/Yeah homie, in new York, niggas like your vocals/But that song in New York, dawg, your ass is local.”

50’s barbs don’t end there. He immediately ousted the Game from G-Unit back in February when the West Coast rapper refused to participate in 50's beefs with other rappers ("50 Drops Game from G-Unit; Shots Fired at Radio Station"). Despite a truce, the two have been exchanging verbal lashings ever since.

50 has also taken some public jabs at rapper/producer Kanye West, claiming “[he] is successful because of me” ("50 Cent: 'I Feel Like Kanye West Is Successful Because Of Me'"). “After 50 Cent, [hip-hop fans] was looking for something non-confrontational, and they went after the first thing that came along. That was Kanye West, and his record took off.”

It seems as though 50’s bottomless bank account has made him a social critic and political pundit. When he’s not raking in the cash for his music, books, and soon, sex toys ("50 Cent Plans Sex Toy Line"), he’s berating his more talented peers and explaining why queers are too gay for hip-hop.

50 slammed actor Samuel L. Jackson for turning down a role in his biopic when he told The New York Daily News, “ I don't even see where Samuel fits into my life story anyway, unless he plays one of the crackheads. He was a crackhead originally, right? So I come from being a rapper, and he comes from being a crackhead” (“50 Cent Gets at Sam Jackson and the Billboard Critics: Rapper says he’s held to a double standard based on his rap roots”).

Correction, 50--you come from being a crack dealer. Not exactly a step above the crackheads, were you?

And when he’s not hating on other rappers and successful actors, he’s crediting himself with the success of others (e.g., Kanye West). Does Curtis Jackson really believe that I and millions of other people purchased “College Dropout” and “Late Registration” because Kanye is “less confrontational” or maybe his muscles aren’t quite so big? You’re right, 50. Why would superior musical aptitude have anything to do with it?

And who made 50 the new spokesperson for Christian evangelicalism?

“Being gay isn’t cool—it’s not what [rap] music is based on. There’s always been conflict at the center of hip-hop because it’s all about which guy has the competitive edge, and you can’t be that aggressive if you’re gay” (“50 Cent: ‘Rap Isn’t for Gays’”).

Translation: if you’re a fag, you can’t fire a gatt.

It would be too easy to typecast 50 Cent has another oversexed, egotistical, homophobic meathead who thinks with his gun and talks with his dick. But his ignorance and uneducated-ness is astounding.

Since when are boys who like boys not aggressive? What does one’s sexual preference have to do with the size of his muscles?

And how do we know 50 Cent isn’t overcompensating for his possible gayness?

“I mean, some rappers are fruity, but they don’t say they’re gay out in the open.”

Was that a confession?

Bienvenido!

Why hello there. I'd like to wish my reader(s) a nice hearty welcome to my new blog. I'm fully aware that probably no one will read this, let alone be aware of this. But please allow me to introduce myself and then explain the purpose of my new blog.

My name is Shari and I'm 22 years young, though I feel old when I'm greeted as "Ma'am" (yes, this has happened on more than one occasion--apparently when you reach your twenties, a sign appears on your forehead that says, "I'm now old, feel free to greet me as such," and it's only visible to others). I'm a New Yawka, and a proud one at that. (GO YANKEES!!) I recently graduated from Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY where I majored in English Literature & Rhetoric--or more simply a knock-off of journalism. Okay, this is beginning to sound like a cover letter. Lord knows I've written more than enough of them.

Yes, journalism. Journalism is the new pink, didn't ya know? It's also the hard-to-get pink. Like the limited edition Dior bag you can only purchase if you're 1) disgustingly rich; 2) a celebrity (therefore, disgustingly rich); or 3) have no concept of financial limitation whatsoever--not rich, but not really caring much about the rent or electric bill at the moment. Whoops, tangent. Sorry.

Journalism was looking darn good for me in college. I got involved with the school newspaper (http://www.bupipedream.com if you're interested, though that interest will quickly dissipate--trust me). I was especially interested in arts & entertainment, so I wrote a lot of reviews of subpar CDs and bad movies. (Um, maybe Malibu's Most Wanted sounded good at the time, but now? Not so much.) My "big break," if you will, was scoring an interview with R&B group 112. (Remember "Peaches & Cream"? Yeah, didn't think so. We'll soon see them on a VH1 Behind the Music special, I'm sure.) Then my fortune swelled when I interviewed comedian Tommy Davidson (yeah yeah yeah, save you're "who?"'s). I think the guy has ADD. Then again, most comedians do. I later chatted up Theo and Danny from MTV's Real World (Chicago and New Orleans seasons respectively--interesting that these aired as the show began its downward spiral).

Following my success with the school paper, I got the opportunity to intern at Binghamton's local newspaper, the Press & Sun-Bulletin (http://www.pressconnects.com -- not quite The New York Times, but a good newspaper nonetheless). I worked in the Features Department where I wrote feature stories for the Lifestyle section and previews of various events for the weekly entertainment guide, Good Times. I must say that there's nothing quite like seeing your writing published in a widely read publication for the first time. Especially when it makes the front page of the Lifestyle section!

I then freelanced for the newspaper during my senior year of college. This translated to me getting paid to be published, which is always like Christmas for a college student. I did much of the same thing that I did when interning. But my biggest story was my inteview with guitarist Mike Einziger of the band Incubus. I'm not sure I had ever quivered before when conversing with someone on the phone. It was surreal. Not so much that I was talking to the guitarist of a well known band, but that this journalism thing was actually happening. I thought, Rolling Stone here I come!!

And then reality set in. "Not so fast," the Real World said. I applied for jobs and internships (even as a college graduate, I was willing to sacrifice a paycheck to get my foot in the door), all of which turned up a big fat nothing. Like I said, journalism is the new pink--a limited edition Dior handbag. Everyone wants it. Everyone is vying for the same spot. It's a competitive field.

So where does that leave me? I'm employed, fortunately. I'm an administrative assistant at United Water New York, a utility/water company. I'm the one who orders the fancy letterhead and processes the company's bills for payment. You pay your bills, we pay ours. I do a bunch of other mindless crap, such as filing, faxing, data entry, and photocopying. It's rather monotonous, but they pay me well, so I can't complain (too much).

In fact, it's so boring here that this is my downtime. I'm blogging at work. And until I get more work to do, this is where I will continue to blog.

Speaking of said blog, what is its purpose? Well, it's not going to be a personal journal or diary where I release my internal angst and emotions or reveal the details of my last sexual romp. It's merely a place for me to continue my writing. I've been writing since I was in grade school, and I've somewhat honed it as a craft. When you don't practice your craft, you begin to lose some of it. So I'll be writing about whatever grabs me at the moment--politics (yuck!), celebrity gossip (yum!), or even current social issues. I'll even post pictures to accompany my writing--copyrighted of course.

I suppose you can consider this blog as a series of columns written for a magazine or newspaper. Quite a stretch for me, eh? Feel free to leave feedback. Agree or disagree. But please refrain from getting personal. I may poke fun at individuals "out there," but I won't insult my audience (if I ever have one), unless of course you insult me first. Two wrongs may not make a right, but my wrong will certainly make me feel better.

Ciao!