50 Cent

Disputes and controversy

Ja Rule and Murder, Inc Records

Before even signing to Eminem's and Dr. Dre's label, 50 Cent was engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rival rapper Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. The rappers engaged in numerous mixtape "disses," but have since ended the conflict. The conflict stemmed from Jackson's alleged robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry, which led to a confrontation and 50 Cent's stabbing.

Related Topics:
Dispute - Ja Rule - Murder Inc. Records

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before the release of Get Rich Or Die Tryin, Murder, Inc alongside The Source began a smear campaign against the rapper. A restraining order document was floating around the Internet stating that 50 Cent had placed label CEO, Irv Gotti and rapper Black Child in the document forging a belief that 50 Cent is a "snitch" or a police informant. Although 50 Cent dismissed the claims of a restraining order, the bad publicity continues to be a tool used among various rappers who engage in beef with G-Unit.

Related Topics:
The Source - Irv Gotti

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was one of the most well known feuds in hip-hop history. Ja Rule eventaully tried to squash the beef with 50 Cent by using Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. Ja Rule soon lost credibilty when the interview was done a day before his album Blood From My Eye was released, leading 50 Cent to dismiss the interview as a blantant publicity stunt. 50 Cent had not commented much on Ja Rule's and Irv Gotti's situation. The FBI is probing Murder Inc.'s ties to drug-kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff who is possibly involved in the murder of Jam Master Jay.

Related Topics:
Louis Farrakhan - Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to website The Smoking Gun a 2003 search warrant affidavit for the Manhattan offices of the Murder, Inc. record label showed that McGriff, an incarcerated Drug Lord with ties to Murder Inc., was still trying to kill 50 Cent and that he "communicates with Murder, Inc. employees concerning the target." An excerpt of the affidavit reads:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:"The investigation has uncovered a conspiracy involving McGriff and others to murder a rap artist who has relesed songs containingh lyrics regarding McGriff's criminal activities. The rap artist was shot in 2000, survived and there after refused to cooperate with law enforcement regarding the shooting. Messages transmitted over the Murder Inc. Pager indicate that McGriff is involved in an ongoing plot to kill this rap artist, and that he communicates with Murder Inc. employees concerning the target".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New York Rappers

50 Cent also has a rivalry with Shyne, Jadakiss, Nas, and Fat Joe. He claimed that Nas had made disparaging comments about him and his G-Unit camp while performing at a New York concert. The rapper has denounced Nas as a traitor over the allying himself with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. 50 Cent points out that Jadakiss and Fat Joe were notorious for allowing themselves to partner up with Ja Rule while filming a video in which the rapper took shots at him. He recorded the "Piggy Bank" and attacked directly at Jadakiss and Fat Joe for their association with Ja Rule. Shyne was named as an enemy of 50 Cent. Shyne had Irv Gotti produce his album, and 50 Cent also attacked him for this association. Even though things cooled down, at 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Fat Joe made a disparaging comment about G-Unit during a performance. 50 Cent and G-Unit retaliated on set by shouting obsenities toward Fat Joe and Terror Squad.

Related Topics:
Shyne - Jadakiss - Nas - Fat Joe - Retaliated

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

50 Cent has a long-standing dispute with former G-Unit artists Bang 'Em Smurf and Domination over internal conflicts. On the song "Love Me" off the 8 Mile soundtrack, 50 Cent criticized Lil' Kim for having breast implants and discusses why he refused her request to be in a video clip for her single "Magic Stick", which he refused to record with her, citing that song was originally entitled to Miami rapper Trina.

Related Topics:
Lil' Kim - Trina

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

50 Cent also had a little known feud with Jay-Z in 1999. Jay-Z did not take to kindly to 50 Cent's mention of him on "How To Rob" and responded with a line in his song "It's Hot". 50 Cent responded with "Be A Gentleman," though the track was never heard by many due to 50 Cent getting dropped from Columbia Records after his shooting. 50 Cent and Jay-Z eventually squashed their beef, and they toured together in 2003. Jay-Z and 50 Cent even appeared in a Reebok commercial together promoting their sneaker lines, called S. Carter and the G-Unit, respectively.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Game

50 Cent currently has an escalating feud with The Game. The Game, who was previously signed to G-Unit, was booted by 50 Cent. Fans mostly believed that 50 Cent and The Game were bonding at the time of The Documentary release. The Game's major debut album was surrounded by controversy. Right after its release, 50 Cent felt that the rapper was disloyal for saying he wanted to work with artists G-Unit were feuding with and he formally dismissed the rapper.

Related Topics:
Feud - The Game - The Documentary

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

50 Cent also claimed that he was not getting his proper credit for the debut of the album. During that dispute, a member of The Game's entourage was shot and wounded after confrontation at Hot 97. After the situation between them escalated, 50 Cent and The Game decided to hold a press conference to announce their reconciliation. Many fans felt that the supposed feud, and particularly the incident at the radio station was a publicity stunt designed to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released. Nevertheless, even after the situation had apparently deflated, 50 Cent and G-Unit continued to feud with The Game, denouncing his street credibilty in the media and claiming that without their support, he will not score a hit from his second album. 50 Cent also sued The Game's manager Jimmy Henchmen over unauthorized filming for a documentary about Kelvin Martin. The Game was then highly critical of 50 Cent during a performance at the Summer Jam festival, leading chants of "G-Unot".

Related Topics:
Hot 97 - Kelvin Martin - G-Unot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with a hard hitting diss titled "300 Bars and Runnin'", which directly addresses 50 Cent and G-Unit. 50 Cent has mixed feelings towards the diss, but nevertheless responded through his "Piggybank" video, which features The Game dressed as a Mr. Potato Head and parodies many other of 50's nemesises. This was the first of many feuds where two rappers from the same label were involved against each other. It's not too clear if the feud is dissolved, but on BET 106 & Park, The Game had confirmed that he's done beefing with 50 Cent and felt that his diss done enough damage to the label. 50 Cent has not commented on resolving the feud.

Related Topics:
"300 Bars and Runnin'" - Mr. Potato Head - Same label

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other Feuds

While appearing at the Summer Jam XI concert in New York, 50 Cent and his members of G-Unit were being criticized for speaking out against other notable artists including R&B singer R. Kelly. Before he was to come on stage, 50 Cent mentioned R. Kelly's pending child pornography trial. He and his crew received mixed emotions from the crowd and chairs were thrown onstage, forcing 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew to leave the stage for safety reasons.

Related Topics:
R. Kelly - Child pornography

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

50 Cent was also dramatically booed off stage at the Reading Festival while on tour in England. A rain of bottles hit him and his G-Unit crew as they came onstage. Chants of "50 Cent is a wanker" were heard as the group was jeered and heckled throughout the short appearance.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The rapper also had a fall-out with Eminem's former deejay Green Lantern. The deejay has been labeled a "snitch" and "traitor" for his apparent phone conversation with rival Jadakiss. The rapper had a phone interview with DJ Green Lantern over his the feud with 50 Cent. The deejay was apparently encouraging Jadakiss to "deliver a major blow" to 50 Cent. The rapper never confronted the deejay about the situation, but it did affect the relationship within the Shady Records. The situation forced Green Lantern to leave Shady Records and other ventures associated with Eminem.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a taping of The O'Reilly Factor, conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly has insisted boycotts against rap music. O'Reilly named 50 Cent as a member of his crusade to stop rappers who promote bad behavior from endorsing mainstream merchandise. He criticized shoe maker Reebok for partnering up with 50 Cent to endorse his G-Unit Sneakers. O'Reilly has rallied a boycott against the shoe maker. Despite the boycott, sales remain excellent, and Reebok still continues to endorse 50 Cent's products. However, a television advertisement for Reebok which featured 50 Cent was recently taken off air in the United Kingdom. The advertisement contained lyrics from one of 50's tracks, which resulted in complaints against their violent imagery.

Related Topics:
Bill O'Reilly - Reebok - G-Unit Sneakers - United Kingdom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In August 2005, 50 Cent sued a Philadelphia car dealer for $1 million for using his likeness in advertisements without permission. 50 Cent described himself in the lawsuit as "a hugely popular and extremely successful hip-hop music artist ... known for his good looks, 'gangsta' image and hard knocks success story." The auto dealer, Gary Barbera Enterprises, used the slogan "Just Like 50 Says!" and the artist's picture in a print advertisement for a Dodge Magnum.

Related Topics:
August - 2005 - Philadelphia - Dodge Magnum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In September 2005, while 50 Cent was collaborating with talent in Pittsburgh, (including Original, Uncle S and Philthy Mouf), a production staff intern, Alok Disa, queued up an Uncle S production while Original was at the mic (Original has been quoted as describing Uncle S's minimalist beats as "trim"). The mistake's resultant confusion escalated into shouting, until 50 Cent was alleged to have thrown a Stouffer's frozen dinner through the recording booth glass, injuring Mr. Disa with minor cuts and bruising to his face. 50 Cent is alleged to have immediately apologized for the accident and shuttled the injured intern to UPMC Presbyterian where he was treated and released.

Related Topics:
September - 2005 - Pittsburgh - Original - Uncle S - Philthy Mouf - Alok Disa - Stouffer's - UPMC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~