50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music'

The former drug-dealer rapper has become a film writer and actor, author, and clothing, drinks, and property magnate. But, he says...'I still have passion for music'!

At some point, Curtis James Jackson III will probably want to bid farewell to the gangsta-rapper charmingly known as 50 Cent. The controversial performer – famous for being shot nine times, entertaining disagreements, dodging lawsuits (his most recent involves allegedly posting a sex tape online), and wearing bullet-proof vests like thermals over those intimidating, tattooed biceps – employed the persona well when he debuted in 1999 with the single "How To Rob". He went on to sell 12 million records with his first album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' and, from a brand perspective, it had enough mileage to warrant a movie inspired by his life, his own G-Unit record label, a couple of video games which indulged kids in gangster-like fantasies and a series of "hip-hop noir" novels.

But in 2010, 50 the businessman looks to have established more credibility with other ventures which include clothing, properties and a lucrative share in Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater, not to mention last year's New York Times bestseller The 50th Law, where he collaborated with business strategist Robert Greene. It all begs the question of how relevant songs about wiping out his foes and animalistic sex are nowadays, when carefree pop music reigns in the hearts and minds of the mainstream who don't get the thug life, or want to spend an hour of their life mulling it over either.

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His last album, Before I Self Destruct, was set to be released in February 2008, but was pushed back so many times that, by the time it came out, in November 2009, it'd been leaked and made less of an impact than expected.

"I was extremely happy with the response to it," he counters. "For the most part, I heard it was my best record since Get Rich or Die Tryin', and that was huge accomplishment for myself. I've been in huge competition with myself since. Of course, it didn't sell a fraction of what Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold, that record went on to scan 12 million records, but we're just in a different climate and time. It was interesting numbers for the first week for me, but I still feel good about the project because of the response publicly that I got from people."


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