50 Cent vs. Lupe Fiasco feud?

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Even during his days as a mixtape rapper, 50 Cent was known as one of hip hop's biggest forces. In 2003, 50 Cent released his commercial debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was laced with disses aimed at Ja Rule. At the time, Ja Rule was the biggest rapper in the game, 50 Cent took that role.

On his second album, The Massacre, 50 Cent moved on from his feud with Ja Rule. While he still dissed his foe, 50 Cent began dissing Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Nas. Because of this, Game, then a member of G-Unit, separated himself from 50 Cent. This led to a feud between the label-mates.

50 Cent sparked a feud with Cam'ron before the release of his third album, Curtis. At the same time, 50 Cent found common ground with Jadakiss. It has become clear what 50 Cent does when it is time for him to release a new album. 50 boasted of how he may decide to release a new album this year.

For his new "Street King" movement, 50 Cent has been releasing a new track every day. While the movement is for a worthy cause, 50 Cent took shots at Lupe Fiasco. After being out of the limelight for four years, Lupe Fiasco returned with his chart-topping album, Lasers. The album solidified Lupe Fiasco as the new socially-concious figure in hip hop. For the most part, Lupe Fiasco has stayed away from beef, but he had a minor tiff with Soulja Boy last December.

With 50 Cent apparently taking shots during a time when beef is more of a joke than a true competition, will Lupe Fiasco respond to 50 Cent, or will be invite him to dinner?

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50 Cent to publish Anti-Bullying Novel

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Nearly every day, 50 Cent is in the news and it is no longer about his career in hip hop. Currently, 50 Cent is trying to secure a release date for his next album. The Queens rapper has made it obvious rap is not his only outlet, however. 50 Cent has also transformed himself into one of the more savvy businessmen in the world.

Recently, 50 Cent signed a deal with The Penguin Young Reader Group. 50 Cent will write a book, which will be titled Playground, and it is semi-autobiographical. The novel is targeted towards teenagers and young adults. This is the third book written by 50, following From Pieces to Weight and The 50th Law.

50 Cent has portrayed the image of a bully in hip hop, ever since he emerged in 2003. In his eight years, 50 Cent has had feuds with many rappers. The list includes Nas, Ja Rule, Game, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, and numerous others. Still, growing up, 50 Cent was bullied, himself. This has been portrayed in his semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin' and in his lyrics.

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Mobb Deep considers G-Unit return

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

In 2005, 50 Cent released his diss record, "Piggy Bank." He left no rock unturned in the scathing diss song. "Piggy Bank" included disses to Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Nas, and 50 made fun of Jay-Z's "Takeover" diss towards Mobb Deep.

Prodigy, of Mobb Deep, was spotted with Game, right after he released his first G-Unit diss. This had all the makings of a major feud between G-Unit and Mobb Deep. But, 50 Cent surprised fans when he signed Mobb Deep.

With this signing, Mobb Deep took on all of G-Unit's feuds, including feuds with Nas and Game. For years, Mobb Deep dissed these two rappers. Game extended an olive branch in 2008 and Mobb Deep was dropped in 2009.

Towards the end of 2009, 50 Cent confirmed Mobb Deep was no longer a part of G-Unit. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Mobb Deep was dropped because Jimmy Iovine forced 50 Cent to get rid of them after their album failed to sell many copies. This, along with a lack of promotion, is why 50 Cent made the decision to leave Interscope Records for a new deal with EMI Records.

Prodigy is now out of prison and he is working on a solo album. The Mobb Deep group, Prodigy and Havoc, are currently working on a new Mobb Deep project. Prodigy said it is very likely that this new project could end up being released on the new G-Unit/EMI label.

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The Downfall of 50 Cent

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Obviously, it is not 2003 anymore. Recently, the top hip hop earners were revealed by Forbes magazine. In recent years, the big three have been Jay-Z, Diddy, and 50 Cent. Many were ready to place 50 Cent on the top of the list. Actually, 50 Cent, himself, was ready to move to the top of the list.

The reason 50 Cent made it to the top was because of his underdog persona. His primary rival was Ja Rule, who often boasted of bedding multiple women and making money. The cockiness, along with the frequent singing, of Ja Rule made 50's job easy. Most of the hip hop community jumped behind David as he took on Goliath.

This was done with beats from Dr. Dre and rhymes from Eminem and the summer belonged to 50 Cent. Because he had never been in this situation before, 50 Cent made the most of it. He promised to take his homeboys out of the hood and turn them into stars. Jimmy Iovine, the head of Interscope Records, took advantage of 50 Cent's popularity and granted him G-Unit Records.

Now the head of his own label, 50 Cent quickly put his friends from Queens on. Not only did he land record deals for him longtime friends, but he also created his own clothing line. Throughout the year of 2003, 50 Cent and his crew dominated radio and clothing. 50 Cent had built his empire on the downfall of Irv Gotti and Murder Inc. Records. With one move, he took Ja Rule's position as the most popular rapper and the position of Irv Gotti as the top hip hop record executive. But, when it was time to create a concept for his second album, 50 Cent was lost.

Meanwhile, Ja Rule was plotting his comeback. In 2003, it did not seem like it, but Ja Rule has a lot of friends within the industry. Due to his position, he rarely called upon them, but he had to in 2004. Fat Joe had really hit it off with both Irv Gotti and Rule years before and Jadakiss was always close to Ja Rule. In 2004, both Fat Joe and Jadakiss had big hits and Ja Rule was in need of one. When Ja Rule called upon them to create the next anthem, they quickly hit back and the result was the hit single, "New York." The song captured airwaves for months and this angered 50 Cent.

Feeling as if hip hop would embrace him again, 50 Cent found a concept for his new album. Since feuding worked with Ja Rule, for The Massacre, 50 Cent decided to target Fat Joe and Jadakiss. "Piggy Bank," a track on the album, dissed Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Nas, and Mobb Deep. The song warranted responses from all the aritsts, namely Fat Joe and Jadakiss. 50 Cent sold well with his album, but the backlash was on and he was dissed at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and Jadakiss was out for blood. The lyrical battle belonged to all of 50 Cent's rivals.

Because he was the leader of G-Unit, 50 Cent expected everyone in his crew to take his side as he decided to take on these rappers. Game, a Compton rapper signed by Dr. Dre, was placed on G-Unit Records as a cross-promotional effort. It was rare to see Game and 50 Cent together, outside of doing promotional work and the two rappers did not talk then. They did not know each other well, but they had undeniable chemistry which showed when their music was released. While they were making music the people loved, Game was having problems following the G-Unit trend and direspecting legends of the game.

When Game refused to join 50 Cent in his beef against Nas, Fat Joe, and Jadakiss, the gloves came off and there was division at Aftermath Entertainment. Following a failed reconciliation, Game went on to record with Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Nas, and Jadakiss, all enemies of 50 Cent. Even when Rick Ross jumped into a beef of his own with 50 Cent, Game assisted him and brought Fat Joe and Ja Rule with him in his crusade against 50 Cent. By the time 50 Cent got to his beef with Rick Ross, the public was tired of hearing it and they backed the underdog in a similar fashion of how he did in Murder Inc.

In the end cockiness and greed is what cost 50 Cent, but he lost more than music, his entire empire is at stake.

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