Just what the world needed

50 Cent Forum

Another punk thug tellin it like it is.. such a fine role model for today's impressionable youth who, somehow, are led to think that violence, anger, machismo, gang-banging, thug life, substanceless whores and guns are COOL. I don't mind rap, so much, really. As far as I'm concerned, Tupac Shakur is an unrivaled poet for his time - But he didn't make his life out to be grand. He didn't encourage kids to follow in his footsteps. He didn't try to make himself look cool for being the way he was. HE was REAL.

I'll be honest, I haven't heard ANYthing from this new bloke, but when the FIRST image I saw of him was some badass with a gun aimed at me.. I lost any desire to. BIG

Oh, and speaking of Tupac: Resurrection

"Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

This song title implies that he has significantly limited his means in which to get rich.

Apparently, he's interested only in inheritance or committing some unspeakable crime that might end in death.

This might be over-analysis, but the alternative is for him to write and rap about something that has a rewarding impact on anyone or anything other than his own shallow ego.

But for rappers now adays, that'd be unspeakable.

Where do they get these guys from?

I can't believe people PAY for that crap. Besides, IF it does sound catchy, people will be over it in a few months.

How much more shallow can our society get?

We've already heard the songs about your whores, cars, and cash......it's novelty has subsided. Try some creativity.

To first start this off i want to address the album title dosent mean is going to be commiting some unspeakable crime.It has to do with him getting rich from rap music.If u look at his past u ould see he has'nt had much luck in rap first he is tossed in a wirld wind of drama afther putting out a song by the name of "How to Rob".As 50 Cents rap career seemed to be going off that the right foot sincehe was found by the late JamMasterJay But aftherblowing up in the mixtape circit he was shot nine times in his car.he was gone for a while then came back to the mixtape world while emiem was finishing his 3rd album eminems manger was contacted by 50's manger then they both got togeather and now 50 cent is sigined to Shady Records/Afthermath Ent. and thats when 50 cents career began to head straight to the top.

Now to Sean's claims...there is no way u can blame 50 cent or rap for guns, sex, drugs, rape, or any type of viloence becuase thats just ludacris! The only reason why the rappers now a days speak about killing eacth other and everything else is becuase of the enviorment they was born in to.rap isnt to blame our country is to blame and our country includes all of us there for before blame 50 for anything why dont u ask ur selfwhen was the last time u ran a red light, when was the last time u ever wished harm on a person, when was the last time u rasied ur voice at someone?? Rap didnt influecne the people..people influecne Rap if these things was'nt going on today then rappers wouldnt be rapping about it.So instead of complaining that 50 is not being a good role model why dont u ask who was his role model and why did they influecne him to make him this way?He speaks about guns, whores, money and gang-bangin becuase his enviorment like others all over the world told him, showed him, exsposed him to all these things so as many others he is a product of his enviorment dont blame the rapper blame don blame the streets blame the goverment bcuase the still decide to ignore the facts.

so for 50 cents get rich or die tryin is a grate cd as from i can see by the single so

WUN

Its like this i beleave 50 Cent understands he is good role Model NOW but before he was signed only 5 percent of the country was still listin to 50 cent afther he was shot.The only reason why any child whould be influecned by 50 is if they lsitin to all the Old songs on the mixtape but lik i was inthe car lisitin to hot 97 and thehost Star ha 50 on the radio and they was talkin about the new single in da club.Star said "I see your going with a diffrent formula from Wanksta." 50 replys "yeah man these kids be listin to my every word man its like they blieave my word is God so u kno i had to put out in the club to let em now that im not jus about shootin a gun".so there for 50 understands but he jus wants to d his dream and to get his money no asked to raise the kids of the next generation why arent the parents raising them? If parents and adults are worried that rap might influecne them to do bad.Then sit with yah kids and little brothers and little sisters and exsplain to them but it dose all end with they have to choose but if u let them here the positive side as wel as the negitive side then the child can evaluate there situation and make the final decision.

Anyway thanks for listing to the tracks

If music has such an impact on kids and the way kids grow up in todays society, parents should have more of an impact on what their child is listening too. I know when I grew up I always listened to rap, my parents really didn't like it.
But I didn't grow up doing what rappers do.
Violence, sex, & drugs is what sells in todays society if we like it or not. Everyone gotta stop hating on 50, just cuz he don't rhyme like Diddy. He got his own style! G-Unit!!!!!!!!!

First of all, my criticisms of 50 cent have NOTHING to do with him being black. Just because I'm not black, doesn't mean I don't like his music because he is black. I do not want him to fail or shut up because he is black either. I have MANY non-white musicians/artists that I love.

My criticisms are the morals and example he sets for the young people that listen to his music. You cannot argue that the things he raps about are moral, and a lot of things are illegal.
What any person fills their mind with, eventually comes out.

No one is saying that he should not be allowed to rap about what he wants. What I am saying (on this OPINION WEBSITE) is that he is a bad example for the kids of today, and most of his actions should not be condoned in any way. If young people see him as being "cool," then they look up to him. If they look up to him, then the things he does or talks about are cool in their minds as well.

I hope this makes my opinion more clear.

DarkMonster - first of all, I just wanted to give you recognition for tactfully-expressed arguments.. though I disagree, it's certainly respectable and appreciated where an onslaught of unintelligent angst might normally be expected..

Well first of all, Congrats to 50 for gettin exactly what he wanted. Not only did he get rich off this album but he's got all you people squirming in your seats about THE CHILDREN OF AMERICA, THE HATRED, THE VIOLENCE, OH MY....and Don't you think this was his goal? Obviously you recognize he is going for the 'G-g-g-g-g-g UNIT motha ****in' soldier' image. He's no wangsta. He's got the bullet wounds to prove it and he made his way from the ghetto to the top. The American Dream.... ehhh, not really. But the idea of moving from the bottom of society to the top is the concept that he has undoubtably achieved. But his label played off his image for a reason, to make controversy, to get everyone talking. The difference between 50 cent writing a song about killing someone and another rapper, like Ja Rule, we are more likely to believe 50 actually does the stuff he talks about because of his background and current image. But the public has been loving that. He's real. Tupac was real too, and tupac talked about killing and insulted other rappers just like 50 does so I don't know why you consider them so different. Also its not like I want to go out and kill people after listening to 50 Cent's music, but you have to admit, he's got great beats, thanks to Em and Dre, and he's a really good lyricist. Whether u agree with his words or not, he's good. I love his album and all his stuff from his mixtapes and No Mercy, No Fear. He's hot right now too, so the media is going to focus on him and put him under the spot light. I think his purpose is to get his fans and his critics arguing, like your all doing here, and the more controversy, the better. If he is in the public eye for crime and explicit lyrics, this is just as good as advertising for him, because it just feeds his bad guy image. As for the gun pointing at the viewer, thats a bold move to put out on a CD, and if you don't think the record label debated all that, your foolish. They ultimately came upon the decision they want you to feel uncomfortable and uneasy. It makes a strong statement. Hence it's of the highest selling albums right now. I will continue to say he's got talent and if radio stations and MTV want to play his jams next to Britney and N'sync, then its their fault. Because 50 had his music out a long time before you people started criticizing it. PEACE... ......

kiki 24 i am with you all the way! why's everyone gotta hate on 50? Not to mention he is really hott!!

It is my opinion that any person that speaks about drugs, classifies all women as a hoe, a trollop, as whores(as sean says) and speaks about killing, violence, or other ignorant aspects appear to a very limited look on life. - oh, looky here I killed someone. Not a really bright thing to talk about. If you think killing is ''cool'' wait till someone shows up to kill you and see if the thought : Damn, this ain't cool yo - pops into your head.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not meaning to sound 'belittling' - I have just never figured it out. I worked at a Restaurant when I was younger and there was "Conflict of interest" between co-workers being of the opposite color(red and blue, not black and white - they didn't care what color you were as we all got along). Well, to make it short - seeing three people get shot and two die isn't ''cool'' to view - not to mention a shoot out with police while you can only watch and hope the side that likes you keeps on winning so you don't "Die."

I'm not afraid to die - but that type of 'bang' is not how I would like to go out. Let's just say, Tornados are fun. Lived through more then a few.

Hey man, I've got an idea. Yes, he's holding a gun at you in the picture. But guess what. Pictures aren't real... just thought I'd clear that up.
Second of all, rapping about gangs, guns, women, drugs...to take a line from the great slim shady, " I rap about S%$T around me, S&^T I see." Every great poet/ writer / rapper/ anything literacy related will tell u to write about what u know. If they grow up in slums where blacks are treated like crap, or where gangs have more power than police, than that's what they know, and will write about. Not to mention their target audience grew up or is growing up in similar situations. So cope with it.
And seriously ppl, 2pac was o.k. Not some genius, and he's DEAD. Eminem has 10 fold reach, popularity and skill. Not to mention LIFE.

You said -

Let's take another artist then - such as Ja Rule or even Eminem. SAME THING. There's a reason for us not seeing them pointing guns at us or anyone in their materials: Evidently. they're good businessmen or at least have a decent creative PR group with more than an ounce of morals working for them.


First of all, seeing as how 50 cent was signed by Eminem's label, I'm pretty sure that Eminem's people have their say on 50's image.

Eminem talked about killing his baby's mother and putting her is his trunk - you think this is better than a picture of 50 cent pointing a gun?

all i gotta say for all those hatin on fifty is that his music aint for everyone and if you dont like it then **** off and go listen to somethin a lil more soothing for your tastes like ja rule's pop ****.........as for the thing about him pointing a gun what the **** do you expect.......he grew up in rough ass times and the dood got shot 9 times so hes gotta have a lil protection on him so dont say **** about it.......im sure if you were getting shot up like he was you would be packin heat too........besides isnt it a right in america that you can bear arms? so what the **** are you people complainin about. you talkin bout he trying to reinforce his "thug" image just cause he has a gun like thousands of other americans out there? get real people.........it aint like white people in the states dont have guns either.......and that guy that said tupac was a better role model than 50.......what the **** are you on? the dood had THUG LIFE tatooed on his stomach.......how obvious could it get........he was probably even more gangsta than 50 so all yall quit hatin......if you dont like the music dont listen.....peace

M. Flemming -

First of all, don't try to insult me by saying 'Hopefully you feel better now that Eminem is getting some of the blame'... I don't care if he is blamed or not; my point was that your comment about Eminem's PR people having 'more than an ounce of morals' was stupid seeing as how he and 50 cent have the same PR people.

I think the reason why people have 'pulled the race card' on you and S. Kelly is because you are both applying a double standard when it comes to 50 cent that black people are always subjected to. I'm sure neither one of you have any problem with Christina Aguilera (who is a role model for little girls and portrays the perfect image of a tramp, and Britney Spears is not much better), the Ozzbournes (who's kids act like they have no respect for their parents), or the idiots on Jackass, or the SCORES of white action heros who kill people in movies. Personnally, I think they have had a much bigger impact on the glorification of violence in the US than rappers have had, not only because of how sexy they make it look, but also because they reach a much wider audience. You may say that movies aren't real so it isn't the same - well, I don't think any rapper has ever been brought up on murder charges either.

The fact of the matter is that the number of good role models that come out of the public eye are close to zero. Rappers talk about violence because that is what they know and have lived with. And many urban kids identify with what they have lived because they are living it too. None of these rappers say that their lives were cool. 50 cent was shot 9 times - I'm sure it isn't an experience he wishes on anyone else. Whether or not kids glorify their lives depends on a variety of factors. A huge percentage of the kids who listen to ganga rap are white. Last time I checked, gun violence was much more prevalent in the black community. And if kids do look up to these rappers , it's not because of the wild lives they led but because they made it in spite of their circumstances.

If a kid picks up a gun because of what they heard on a CD, it's not the artist's fault, it's their parent's fault, end of story. Kids who are left on their own to make decisions will undoubtedly make bad decisions, and it's up to the community, their teachers, their neighbors, and their families - the people who they are in contact with on a daily basis - to point them in the right direction, not someone who made a rap CD.

The rap artists you claim to be such 'bad influences' on kids have probably never had positive role models themselves; how do you expect them to be positive role models now? They are who they are, and I don't expect them to change just because they are selling records.

Fifty cent is the hottest rapper out this year. I love his music for what it is. The illest, realist I have heard in a long time. All you haters stop hating on fifty. Are you hating cause he is doing something you can not do? He is nice and linking up with Em and Dre, you know he is getting ready to be hot as fire. hotter than he already is.

Come on people, this isn 't worth our effort.
Some people will always just hate actors/rappers/musicians/any other people for no reason - just let them. Fame is a fickle thing (shee ite, spelling?). You've always gotta expect to be big one minute, nothing the next. 50 wouldn't care, so u shouldn't. And by the way - your first post, can anyone say SARCASM? And lastly - If your main problem is his image, GET OVER IT - It's all for the money, every freakin thing is to get money or sex, or to get money, then sex.

Yeah, Marc. Thanks for YOUR insight.

When I said your problem is 50's image - Where else have you said any other problems - your only reasons for your stance on this is that he's black, and his image. Never has anything else been muttered for a considerable amount of time. So shut up.

And as for my view of capitalism - That's how the world is. Why do you think america are so adamant on invading Iraq - OIL. OIL=MOney. And why aren't you invading North Korea - NO MONEY. Join the rest of us suffering under a spiteful nobody named DUBYA.

Kids like rap. Just try and take it away. The whole idea of rap is mainly image. As is just about everything else. So don't start your crap about it putting out a bad image for innocent minds, or whatever you were crapping on about. And anyway - black people, guns, drugs, crime, gangs - are in the REAL world. So get out from under your little anglo-american rock and smell the oil and burning innocents.