Timez Are Weird These Days: 50 Cent in 2011

The sixth best selling rap artist of the past decade can't get a release date. The reigning Schoolyard Bully of Rap, so used to deading the careers of his rivals, has seen his latest victim rocket to stardom, with two back-to-back number one albums and a thriving label; in fact, this victim seems poised to enter the rarefied upper echelon of rap kings. The Unit is dead. All of his old peers are enjoying monumental years (and some of the upstarts aren't doing so shabby either). His two recent, testing-the-waters singles fell on deaf ears; neither one made notable dents on the Billboard 100. His crewmate-turned-enemy just dropped a seemingly career-redeeming album. The facts are simple. Ask anybody, and they'll tell you: 50 Cent fell off.

"Things change, they don't stay the same,"

-Curtis Jackson

So how the fuck could I possibly say that Curtis Jackson is having an incredible year?

"Let's take 'em back, uh huh,"

-Curtis Jackson

I didn't like 50 Cent back then. And you know when I mean. When the camouflage wife beaters, shoes, belts, sweaters, etc were flying off the shelves. When albums were going platinum in a week, all anybody was playing was Fif, and every week a new article was in the paper about how 50 Cent was bad for the kids. It wasn't a hipster thing; I wasn't turned off because "I liked him seew much better before he went mainstream omg". I didn't like all the guns, I couldn't stomach some of the lyrics, and his juggernaut status kinda repulsed me. He battled with everybody, and how the fuck could I possibly cheer for Goliath? I was too young to know anything about 50 'writing' (debatable) The Documentary. I thought Game was dope, so naturally G-Unot's head honcho was wack. Lines were drawn, and I had placed myself firmly amongst the opposition. But somewhere along the way, it all fell apart.

Time heals all they say, and so, for all those rappers (FREE JA RULE) 50 shitted on, life started balancing out. Curtis did huge numbers, but couldn't compete with the untouchable 2007 incarnation of Yeezy. 50 couldn't get back to number one, not with the Unit in 2008, or Before I Self Destruct in '09. Maybe the overexposure got him, or maybe the karma, or maybe the hunger died out. Either way, the man had become a shadow of his former self.

"Caesar didn't see it so he ceased to exist,"

-Sean Carter

No one gets to be king forever. Ask Cool J. Ask Bron. Ask Tiger. Especially not in rap, where everyone wants to be the best, and at the same time wants to cut their peers off at the knees. People, and their tastes, change. Trends come and go. But the rise and the fall are how untouchable legends are made. The rise from nothing is a beautiful, miraculous thing. People eat that shit up. But if there's one thing America likes more than the climb from zero to hero, it's the phoenix re-emerging from the ashes; battered, bruised, but wiser and all the better for the struggle. And if 2011 is any indication, the re-emergence of 50 Cent is on the way.

First, the hot news of the moment, the arrival of 50 Cent's Street King. In the summer, 50 announced his intentions to feed one billion people in Africa over the next five years. People, including myself, were skeptical. Yet, we're nearing October and apparently, this is how he's going to do it. The new energy shot, coming in "Orange Mango" and "Grape", promises "1 Shot Helps Feed 1 Child". The site explains that the company will be working with the United Nations World Food Programme to provide meals to starving people. Definitely check out the impassioned plea from 50 Cent himself, seen below:

This is an incredible move, and I don't mean that career-wise, because I truly don't believe this is about helping himself. I don't know him personally obviously, and despite the fact he's a shrewd businessman, I refuse to believe this is a publicity stunt. I think this is a heartfelt gesture from someone who came from poverty, and now has a very high status he can use to communicate his message to a huge amount of people. My plan is to stay informed about what's going on with this situation, and though I probably won't drink it, buy a few shots when I eventually see them in stores. I encourage you to do the same.

That right there, to me, would constitute an incredible 2011, but we haven't even touched on the music, and we really must. Because it's good. So. Good. Which I think carries a bit of weight coming from someone who used to stand shoulder-to-shoulder among the staunch 50 haters.

It's everything the masses love about 50 Cent: cocky, aggressive, catchy, witty, hard-hitting. All of them are absolute bangers, and other than the vastly underrated "Outlaw" and the shoulda-been-a-hit "I'm On It", they've all been randomly dropped off for free.

Certainly, he's fighting against the tide right now, as these tracks have been criminally overlooked, but what better way to win back acclaim than to put out banging music? Everyone's loving The R.E.D Album right now, but these songs, taken as a whole, are superior, in my mind. In fact, taken as an album, I think these songs would rank as some of his best work. And if you like the tracks, you will absolutely love the shit-talking that goes on at the end of almost all of them.

The fire, the hunger and the aggression are back, and they are undeniable. Which is why the freight train that is 50 Cent is barreling towards us. He is on a collision course with pop culture's consciousness. The return is inevitable.

Download: 50 Cent in 2011

UPDATE: To add to the 50 Cent mayhem, he's got a book on the way (November 1st) and recently dropped off "Street King Energy Track #7" (listen below).


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