That's a Rap

Matt Damon is married with children, Josh Hartnett is turning 30, and Rita’s Italian Ice is canceling their Banana Berry Cream flavor. Just when I thought my week couldn’t get any worse, it did. Two of the world’s most renowned rappers, Kanye West and 50 Cent, had been in a “rap brawl.” America titled this feud the “Kanye West vs. 50 Cent Rap Brawl 2007.” Original, huh? Perhaps Miss South Carolina helped name it. This duel was generated by the fact that both rappers were releasing their CDs on the same date: September 11, 2007. To fuel the fire, 50 added that if his CD, “Curtis,” didn’t outsell Kanye’s “Graduation” within a week of sales, he’d quit rapping. Now several weeks past the end of the brawl, I guess this is good-bye 50.

While 50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III on July 6, 1975 in Queens, New York, has had numerous dance hits such as 2005’s “Disco Inferno” and “Candy Shop,” I’m a sucker for his more soulful raps, those that explain how he got that scar on the left side of his face, like “I’m a Hustler,” “Ghetto Qu’ran (Forgive Me),” and “Good Die Young.” I decided to extensively research Curtis, partly because I can’t think of any words to describe Mr. West that would be appropriate for the school newspaper and partly because someone once told me that they thought mellow, ballad-writing, John Mayer (whose music I do love), has more soul than 50 Cent. Whatever.

As a child, Curtis lost his “hustler” mother and his father walked out, leaving him in the incapable hands of his grandmother. As a teen, Mr. Jackson found a trade that proved to be lucrative: dealing cocaine. After being arrested on multiple occasions in 1994, Curtis ultimately decided to turn his life around and became involved in the hip-hop industry. It didn’t take long for 50 to get recognized, and in 1996 he scored a deal with the help of record mogul Jam Master Jay, formerly a member of RUN-D.M.C. Before releasing his debut CD, “Power of the Dollar,” Jackson released three hits: "Your Life's on the Line," "Thug Love" (featuring Destiny’s Child), and "How to Rob,” which was the largest of the three releases, because of it’s brash lyrics describing how 50 would, essentially, rob specific big-name rappers. The instant fame Curtis attracted upon the release spurred two attacks on his life. The first attempt to take Jackson’s life occurred when he was brutally stabbed outside of the Hit Factory studio on West 54th street in Manhattan, New York. On May 24, 2000, less than month before Columbia was going to release “Power of the Dollar.” The second, and more famed, attempt was made on his life. On 161st Street in Jamaica, Queens (not only was this city where 50 was raised, but Jam Master Jay would also be shot, fatally, near the same location two and a half years later), Jackson sat helplessly in the passenger seat of the car while he was shot nine times with a 9mm gun; once in the cheek, once in the hand, and seven times in his thighs and legs, which explains his trademark of wearing bulletproof vests.

While Curtis narrowly escaped death, Columbia received word of the shooting and negated not to release “Power of the Dollar” and to drop 50 from their label. Since that time, Mr. Jackson has still had some minor brushes with the law, none of them resulting in major jail-time. He has also founded his own record label, G-Unit, which signed many successful rap artists such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. More recently, 50 Cent is becoming more and more famous. This pop culture icon is in the limelight so much that Glacéau put a blurb about Jackson on their grape flavored vitamin water.

To me, 50 Cent is more than just a good-looking rap phenomenon; he’s a soulful music artist, who puts real meaning behind his lyrics. 50 Cent actually lived through everything most rappers write rhymes about, but not all actually experience such as: drugs, crimes, imprisonments, stabbings, and shootings. So even though 50 writes the same racy, explicit, “I met a girl at a club and took her home,” songs that the majority of other artists do, at least he puts his money where his mouth is. He’s not an egotistical, self-centered, “Kanye West,” releasing music that rocks; he’s a survivor releasing songs about a broken home and personal struggles he’s overcome. Granted, I’ll still tap my pencil during Kanye’s “Stronger,” “Touch the Sky,” and “Jesus Walks,” because quite frankly, I like his music. The thing is, I don’t like his whole, I’m-better-than-you attitude. Which is why you, Curtis James Jackson III, had my vote.