Why 50 Cent gets a bad rap for his anti-bullying novel
OPINION - Who would think that a anti-bullying author is the classic embodiment of the bully?...
While his days of bullying the music charts may be behind him, 50 Cent has built his non-hip hop empire by branding himself as a reputable voice on just about everything and bullying his way into the conversation at every turn. Much the same way as he did nearly a decade ago when he exploded into the national consciousness.
We all remember his beef with rapper Ja Rule that spawned songs like “Wanksta” and “I Smell P*ssy” and how they catapulted his notoriety while all but banishing his once chart-topping Murder, Inc. rival to life as little more than a hip hop punch line.
It didn’t hurt that he had out of this world co-signs from Eminem and Dr. Dre, who both spun off their rap careers into other profitable ventures.
There are few ways to describe 50 Cent’s ascent outside of music other than impressive.
Click here to view a slideshow of 50 Cent’s infamous beefs with hip-hop stars
An author on power and self-help? Yep. Selling you the dream of fitness through sugar water? Hello Vitamin Water. Now he is translating that same business shrewdness into young adult fiction.
His latest book, Playground is said to be a semi-autobiographical novel with an anti-bullying theme written by the 34-year old rapper who’s past includes selling drugs and an admittedly violent childhood.
So why is America buying so heavily into 50 Cent?
Looking at the headlines he has made just in the last 12 months, it is hard to tell.
The mixed bag includes negatives, like his performances linked to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and the Security Exchange Commission’s investigation into his tweeted stock tips. The maniacal like his claim to be behind a federal shut down of World Star Hip Hop (WSHH maintains it was server issues) and his threats to bully any other site that didn’t believe in his power and reach.
Even his philanthropic buzz in the news like trying to help 11-year-old Shannon Tavares, who played in The Lion King on Broadway, find a bone marrow donor were trumped by the insane headlines like him trying to adopt a rhino that was shot nine times?
Maybe America just loves a gangster. There is some fun in rooting for a villain. Sure, the extent of Jackson’s actually gangster may be fabricated and exaggerated but there is an edge that is undeniable and profitable.Everything he could do that would seemingly be a misstep towards his larger goal of the even larger financial rewards is just accepted as part of his greater edge.
He can do no wrong.
He operates in a weird space that is somewhat bulletproof.
He’s big enough to have his every word, tweet and statement be overanalyzed and blown out of proportion, like his perceived homophobia in tweeting that any man over 25 that doesn’t have oral sex with a woman should kill themselves. The sarcasm clearly did not translate in that medium and the dust it kicked up forced him to clarify the statements. But the beauty of being the bullying 50 Cent is he’s big enough to bounce right off that blow and have people not even consider the actual homophobic things he shared in 2004 about being uncomfortable around gay men. (Gay women he’s okay with).
What makes 50 Cent the ultimate salesman in some ways draws a weird parallel to boxing promoter Don King. Maybe not as shameless and he certainly did not kill anyone, like King did, during his ascent but he’s nonetheless living this warped, and scraped for American dream.
You know there’s something sort of sleazy about it but damn if its not compelling to watch when he decides to focus his attention on something or someone and the media hype that will undoubtedly surround it.
Even if it fails, like his beef with Rick Ross where he kept escalating the stakes by involving people from Ross’ personal life, he still comes out unscathed, albeit slightly less trusted.
The real fact is his music is at this point only complimentary to the booming business he’s become. So what if he hasn’t had a release of note in a while and you’re hardly checking for his music, he’s made his brand so strong by bullying his way into our laptops and living rooms that it probably won’t matter. And if you disagree or don’t believe, he has the money, cunning and just enough crazy to try to change your mind or destroy you.
Who would think that a anti-bullying author is the classic embodiment of the bully? Maybe that’s the secret of his upcoming book. Is the trick to rising out of your circumstances flipping the script and not so much becoming the bully but taking control of whatever scenario you end up in? Who knows? But chances are, like everything else 50 decides to invest in, people will drink it up.
Somehow, he is darkly charismatic enough for people to ignore all the controversy he creates and move past the intimidating uneasiness of his shady smile every time they look up and realize they have somehow put more money in his pocket by consuming a product his name is attached to.
From the booth the boardroom, he has something figured out. Even if he was the one doing the bullying to get there.
