Trivia / 50 Cent

• Breakthrough Hit: "In Da Club".
• Creator Backlash: He felt that he went too far referencing the Chris Brown and Rihanna domestic violence incident in an episode of his online animated series Officer Ricky, especially after seeing the photos of Rihanna in the aftermath. He took the episode down from his website shortly after and has apologized to Rihanna since for it.
• Creator Killer: Curtis, particularly the media storm he built around it, ruined his career and image virtually overnight. His 2003 debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is widely considered to be a classic of early '00s Hip-Hop, and is one of the best-selling rap albums of all time, but his 2005 sophomore album The Massacre received a very polarized reaction from both critics and fans, though "Candy Shop" managed to be another massive hit in spite of the contentious nature of its parent album. With people questioning his staying power, Fifty, in an attempt to build hype around Curtis, boastfully announced to the public that if Kanye West's album Graduation sold more copies than Curtis during their first week of release (both albums were deliberately released on the same day), he would officially retire from rapping. This drew the ire of many fans, who began to perceive him as an arrogant prick on top of being a mediocre talent, and fed the increasingly strong sentiment that Fifty had nothing to offer other than beefs. The fact that Fifty went back on his word when Graduation did indeed sell far more copies than Curtis was the finishing blow. Luckily for him, he managed to find a decent career in acting, gaining supporting roles on Starz hit series Power (where he's also an executive producer) as well as several films including Southpaw and Escape Plan, and as an online entrepreneur with ThisIs50.com and other surrounding ventures.
• Promoted Fanboy: Like many artists within the music industry, and especially in the hip hop community, he is a fan of Robert Greene and his books, particulary his The 48 Laws of Power. In 2009, he co-wrote The 50th Law with Greene; a book that continues with the theme of personal power that Greene's 48 Laws began with.
• What Could Have Been: "In Da Club" was created for Eminem's group D-12 to rap over, with the intention of using it on the 8 Mile soundtrack. It never came together for D-12, but after 50 Cent signed with Dre's Shady/Aftermath label, he was brought into the studio and offered the track. According to Elizondo, he spent an hour writing the lyrics and recorded most of his vocals that night.

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