Get Rich or Die Tryin'

February 28, 2011 8:57 AM

Rapper 50 Cent stashes $2,000,000 in the front trunk of his Lamborghini. (SLYT)
posted by growabrain (110 comments total)

Well where the hell do you expect him to put it? The glove compartment???
posted by spicynuts at 8:59 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Best thing is that he made all that shoveling snow.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:00 AM on February 28, 2011 [7 favorites]

Whats with the $20s?

That's clean crisp money.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:01 AM on February 28, 2011

Hist, what a crasshole.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:02 AM on February 28, 2011 [7 favorites]

Fifty's got nothing on Da Cash Money Duke. (See also, many other cash money gifting proof videos).
posted by Nelson at 9:02 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is this a thread where we can talk about privilege of this vs. starving kids in 3rd world (hell 1st world) countries? Because you can't feed your baby on Vitamin Water alone.
posted by yeloson at 9:03 AM on February 28, 2011

$2,00,000?
posted by Dumsnill at 9:04 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

Is this a thread where we can talk about privilege of this vs. starving kids in 3rd world (hell 1st world) countries? Because you can't feed your baby on Vitamin Water alone.

one time I stashed 2 million vitamin waters in the trunk of a baby
posted by Greg Nog at 9:04 AM on February 28, 2011 [12 favorites]

I fully expect his views (or someones) on rape will come up. The Godwin of the blue.
posted by Bovine Love at 9:04 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

And then he drove to the inner city and used that money to improve public schools so that thousands of promising young kids could have the opportunities that more well-off children have.

Oh, no, excuse me. The camera pans out and we get to see more of (his?) fancy cars.
posted by phunniemee at 9:04 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

> Is this a thread where we can talk about privilege of this vs. starving kids in 3rd world (hell 1st world) countries?

No, thanks for asking though.

Also, too bad those stacks of cash are banded together, because it would make for a spectacular crash if all the bills were loose.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:05 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Why cash, is it illegally obtained?
Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?
posted by naju at 9:06 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?!?! THERE'S MONEY IN THE BANANA STAND LAMBORGHINI!
posted by The Michael The at 9:06 AM on February 28, 2011 [17 favorites]

You think $2 mil is hard to carry around now, just imagine carrying it around in $4 million coins. Just collecting that many Kennedy half-dollars would be staggering!
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 9:06 AM on February 28, 2011

At my current rate of (post-tax) income, which I consider to be a fairly reasonable on which to live, I will be dead before I earn, let alone save that amount of money.

But, no. Let's cut taxes on those fuckers so they can continue to pull stunts like this and provide us with entertaining YouTube clips.
posted by schmod at 9:09 AM on February 28, 2011 [15 favorites]

Why cash, is it illegally obtained?
Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

Indeed.

Jay-Z, surrounded by thousands of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities papers, is laughing at this video.
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 9:09 AM on February 28, 2011 [16 favorites]

*a fairly reasonable amount on which to live
posted by schmod at 9:09 AM on February 28, 2011

> Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

Sure, that money could be in a bank somewhere, earning more money for its owner. But think of the intrinsic and non-fiduciary rewards of being able to make it rain.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:10 AM on February 28, 2011 [33 favorites]

Also, too bad those stacks of cash are banded together, because it would make for a spectacular crash if all the bills were loose

"The Lamborghini Murcielago utilizes a unique impact-absorbing crumple zone..."
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:13 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, I'm pondering just what the hell we do with this post here on Metafilter.

Options seem to be:

1. Be impressed that this misogyny promoting thug has $2 million to stash in his car. nope, that wouldn't impress this crowd we don't approve of profiting from that stuff..

2. Make fun of him for being so stupid as to stash $2 million in his car... nope, we don't approve of making fun of people here.

3. Turn it into a political discussion about rich/poor black people... nope , we don't derail threads like that here, and, it would just be a mess in the end.

4. Talk about how he could store much more money in a minivan... nope, he would never drive a minivan..

So what the hell ARE we supposed to do with this?
posted by tomswift at 9:15 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

FIAMO?
posted by edgeways at 9:15 AM on February 28, 2011

tomswift, some posts need no comment, only quiet contemplation.
posted by mikeh at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

"You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."
posted by Fizz at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Redman shows off his dollar box
posted by Ad hominem at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

I fully expect his views (or someones) on rape will come up. The Godwin of the blue.

Well, what are his views on rape, now that you brought it up?
posted by hydrophonic at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

$2,00,000?

When you're that rich, you get to use special numbers. It adds another dimension to the Sudoku that 50 is so fond of working while listening to the dulcet warbling of his Fantastapotamus.
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:18 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Opulence. He has it.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:19 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I throw change for parking meters into my ashtray all the time. If some one wants to come over and film it they are more than welcome to.
posted by Keith Talent at 9:19 AM on February 28, 2011

Can we show this to the Republicans? Cuz a picture of a black man with that much money might just be the thing to make them want to raise taxes.
posted by fungible at 9:21 AM on February 28, 2011 [22 favorites]

Noted for volume comparisons. Next, let's put two million Lamborghinis inside a Lamborghini.
posted by Haruspex at 9:23 AM on February 28, 2011

You know how "THINK OF THE CHILDREN" and "BUT THERE ARE STARVING POOR PEOPLE" are almost never good responses to posts on Metafilter?

Posts like this one are why we say "almost" instead of "always."
posted by schmod at 9:24 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

...cuz republicans are all racist and the only thing powerful enough to overcome their hate for poor people is their hate for black people.
posted by gagglezoomer at 9:25 AM on February 28, 2011

I was marginally more interested in Justin Bieber's haircut.
posted by rocket88 at 9:25 AM on February 28, 2011

Let's cut taxes on those fuckers so they can continue to pull stunts like this and provide us with entertaining YouTube clips.

At least you can't say that he didn't earn the money himself.

My understanding is that there were no legacy admissions to the Ivy League or government bailouts involved.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:25 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

hey gagglezoomer, you got it! Thanks for clearing that up since I didn't say it precisely enough.
posted by fungible at 9:27 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

FIAMO?

Yes, it's a Lamborghini Fiamo.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:27 AM on February 28, 2011 [9 favorites]

I was marginally more interested in Justin Bieber's haircut.

My theory is that male pattern baldness runs in his family - so he's doing the Liam Gallagher comb-forward in advance of need to establish an alibi.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:28 AM on February 28, 2011

> I was marginally more interested in Justin Bieber's haircut.

For his next trick, he should fill a Bugatti Veyron's trunk with Bieber's hair.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:28 AM on February 28, 2011

A couple of years ago I remember carrying £500 cash for a rental deposit in my 1990 Ford Fiesta, which I later scrapped for £50.

But oh no, the Metafilter mods deleted that FPP...

WELL LOOK HOW THE WORM HAS TURNED
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 9:29 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

What's his address?
posted by fistynuts at 9:30 AM on February 28, 2011

Shoot, that's nothing. One time I drove a few miles from the bank to a titling company with a cashier's check for $60,000.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:30 AM on February 28, 2011

...cuz republicans are all racist and the only thing powerful enough to overcome their hate for poor people is their hate for black people.

Pretty much.
posted by fullerine at 9:32 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

What if you put the title to a $2,000,000 car in your wallet, would that be the same thing, sort of?
posted by tomswift at 9:33 AM on February 28, 2011

$2,00,000?

When you're that rich, you get to use special numbers

Actually, this is how you'd write the number in India. It equates to two lakhs of dollars. Its use here indicates one of two possible scenarios:

1) 50 Cent's been working so hard on his hip-hop/Bollywood crossover album he's started thinking like a South Asian; or

2) 50 Cent is hoarding so much cash it will devalue the US dollar to the point where it will be worth less than the Indian rupee, at which point he'll bust out his great big Tata dump truck full of bundles of rupee notes and buy up half the Federal Reserve, at which point he'll be able to purchase himself the job of Secretary of the Treasury, rename the position Maharajah of Gettin' Paid, and convert all of America's T-bills to G-Units. What he'll do next is anyone's guess, but it'll likely involve Davos-like elite gatherings in Queens and a big song-and-dance masala version of Get Rich or Die Tryin' at every cinema in the subcontinent.

No. Seriously. Those are the only two possible scenarios.
posted by gompa at 9:34 AM on February 28, 2011 [13 favorites]

Since it came up, here's an 800% view of Justin Bieber's hair. (I found it suspiciously regular, and thought it might be a coded message, or something)
posted by Wolfdog at 9:36 AM on February 28, 2011

Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

MC Hammer should have a reality show where he teaches personal finance basics to rich hip hop stars.
posted by burnmp3s at 9:36 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

At my current rate of (post-tax) income, which I consider to be a fairly reasonable on which to live, I will be dead before I earn, let alone save that amount of money.

On the other hand, you haven't contributed nearly as much value to society as has 50 Cent. So you don't really deserve that kind of money, do you?
posted by Naberius at 9:40 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Wolfdog, I just ran it through a barcode scanner... it seems to be hiding some sort of countdown...
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 9:42 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

if i had that much money, i would have a much prettier car than that
posted by nathancaswell at 9:43 AM on February 28, 2011

Can't we just call him "Four bits" or something?
posted by Bovine Love at 9:44 AM on February 28, 2011

Why a Lamborghini? If he had a Mini, he could take all that money and CRAM IT IN THE BOOT!
Where would we be without the Cultural Touchstones that are Super Bowl Commercials? Which, by the way, cost THREE million dollars for 30 seconds.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:44 AM on February 28, 2011

Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

It is accruing interest. It's accruing interest in the Bank of Lamborghini Gave Me This Free Car So Fuckers Who Want To Be Like Fitty Will Buy Lamborghinis.

That bank never needs bailin out and it pays dividends like you wouldn't believe.
posted by spicynuts at 9:44 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Thanks for nothing, BERNANKE
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 9:45 AM on February 28, 2011

Would be much more entertaining if he'd put it in the trunk in back.
posted by yerfatma at 9:46 AM on February 28, 2011

Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

Have you looked at banks' interest rates lately? He's got the right idea.
posted by enn at 9:47 AM on February 28, 2011

no, buying $2 mill of gold would be the right idea
posted by nathancaswell at 9:49 AM on February 28, 2011

Lamborghinis are kinda ugly
posted by Hoopo at 9:50 AM on February 28, 2011

No diamond-encrusted skull?

Yo Fifty, jump over that big-ass ramp!
posted by yeti at 9:50 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

If the desired effect was to remind me that money is inherently unimportant and that worshipping it is ridiculous, then it was masterfully played.
posted by padraigin at 9:55 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Maybe he can help Kool Herc out a bit.
posted by mkb at 9:55 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Jay-Z, surrounded by thousands of Treasury Inflation Protected Securities papers, is laughing at this video.

Suposedly 50 cent is worth about 500 million compared to Jay-z's rather paltry 380 million.

I can't find very recent cites though.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:58 AM on February 28, 2011

no, buying $2 mill of gold would be the right idea

Don't be stupid. That much gold would seriously weigh down the Lambo.
posted by The Bellman at 9:58 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

> It's accruing interest in the Bank of Lamborghini Gave Me This Free Car So Fuckers Who Want To Be Like Fitty Will Buy Lamborghinis.

Did they give him that car? I doubt it, and I doubt that Lamborghini gives away any cars for free--they're all paid for long before they arrive at US ports. Maybe the local dealer has some kind of sweet deal for Mr. Fitty if he agreed to plug them or something, but I'm pretty sure that Lambo could care less if a rap star drives their car. I could be mistaken.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:59 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

I once saw 2mil put $.50 in the trunk of a playskool car.
posted by DU at 10:03 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Novel Concept: Maintain the value of your car by storing the equivalent depreciating value of the car in the trunk.
posted by Nanukthedog at 10:04 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

no, buying $2 mill of gold would be the right idea

Don't be stupid. That much gold would seriously weigh down the Lambo.

$2mil in gold is about 86 lbs. heavier than golf clubs, but not that much that it's going to ruin the suspension or anything. Still not the right idea, though.
posted by Crash at 10:20 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Behold the powers of unions. He wasn't unionized he'd have squat.
posted by maxwelton at 10:29 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

no, buying $2 mill of gold would be the right idea

This is why Kanye will be king of the post-dollar economy, all his wealth is being converted to gold chains and goblets.
posted by naju at 10:46 AM on February 28, 2011

MC Hammer should have a reality show where he teaches personal finance basics to rich hip hop stars.

Actually, Sir-Mix-A-Lot would be great. He took his money and invested in cars. All the fancy cars you see in a lot of rap videos? Rented from Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

Find an under-served niche that you are an expert in, invest in a business and keep it moving. My Hooptie indeed.
posted by yeloson at 10:47 AM on February 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

That would make his establishment the Sir-Mix-a-Lot-Lot? -
posted by tomswift at 10:50 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]

Forget the $2 Million, if he could have fit 50 Cent into the front trunk well THEN I would have been impressed.
posted by avoision at 10:52 AM on February 28, 2011

How can Fiddy be worth more than Jay-Z? Truly there is no justice in this world.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:53 AM on February 28, 2011

I don't think it was his rap career that did it. He made about 100 mil from investing in VitaminWater, if I remember correctly.
posted by naju at 10:55 AM on February 28, 2011

So what the hell ARE we supposed to do with this?

A crowbar lists for $13.52 on Amazon.

I'm just sayin'.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:58 AM on February 28, 2011

Actually, Sir-Mix-A-Lot would be great. He took his money and invested in cars. All the fancy cars you see in a lot of rap videos? Rented from Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

No shit, really?
posted by Think_Long at 11:03 AM on February 28, 2011

Actually, Sir-Mix-A-Lot would be great. He took his money and invested in cars. All the fancy cars you see in a lot of rap videos? Rented from Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

No shit, really?

Stranger than fiction. That actually might be true. I guess big butts aren't the only things that he likes...
posted by schmod at 11:13 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

the way the economy's going, we'll all have to stash two million in the trunk of our cars just to go grocery shopping
posted by pyramid termite at 11:22 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

> the way the economy's going, we'll all have to stash two million in the trunk of our cars just to go grocery shopping

Yeah, but if it goes that way then the Fed will simply start printing more zeros on the bills like in Zimbabwe or something.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:27 AM on February 28, 2011

Actually, Sir-Mix-A-Lot would be great. He took his money and invested in cars. All the fancy cars you see in a lot of rap videos? Rented from Sir-Mix-A-Lot.

Mixalot is known for collecting cars, but his financial security comes from putting the proceeds from his early hits into real estate. Luckily for him Seattle was a good place to buy property in the late 80's/early 90's.

As to 50 cent, I'm not a big fan, but from what I've seen, he's a pretty savvy businessman, and has a pretty good sense of humor.
posted by billyfleetwood at 11:30 AM on February 28, 2011

Clearly he's getting ready to drive to the Consortium of Rich People, and the $100 bills are for blowing lines of powdered blood diamonds off a frozen woolly mammoth's tits.
posted by domnit at 11:46 AM on February 28, 2011

Shouldn't that be accruing interest in a bank somewhere? Or cautiously invested in mutual funds?

50 cent is very wealthy, in the hundreds of millions of dollars range He personally made 400 million on the sale of vitamin water. So for him this is only a small portion. The relative interest on that $2 million isn't much compared to the income from his other investments.

Also, mutual funds are a huge ripoff. Put your money in an index fund and forget about it. Or buy bonds. The fees you pay a mutual fund mean you end up with less money they you would get if you got the market average.
posted by delmoi at 12:40 PM on February 28, 2011

I'd just like to see him store $2 million AND the Lamborghini in Justin Bieber.
posted by Samizdata at 12:40 PM on February 28, 2011

He's doing it all wrong. You're supposed to take the bundles of twenties and say "How did these get in here?" with a surprised and disgusted look on your face as you throw them aside. Not throw them under the Benjamins to bulk it up.
posted by three blind mice at 12:47 PM on February 28, 2011

You think that's bad? You weren't standing behind him at the ATM.
posted by Devonian at 12:50 PM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

Hey Fiddy, can I borrow the Lambo?
posted by Ron Thanagar at 12:58 PM on February 28, 2011

This dude embodies the term "new money".
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:00 PM on February 28, 2011

NFC is really going to change the rap game. My guess: they'll get custom phones with extra-wide displays.
posted by polyhedron at 1:09 PM on February 28, 2011

Larry is the white guy/
People think he's funny/
A real-estate investor/
Who makes a lot of money
posted by box at 1:15 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

My understanding is that the 50 Cent $400 million Vitamin Water claim was by people who can't do math. It was closer to $100M. A ton of money still, but not $400M.
posted by disillusioned at 1:17 PM on February 28, 2011

Also, mutual funds are a huge ripoff. Put your money in an index fund and forget about it. Or buy bonds.

But mutual funds can be index funds (even bond index funds). You seem to be equating mutual funds with actively managed funds, which are only a subset of all mutual funds. The mutual fund aspect is just a matter of how the fund works and how assets are treated legally by the SEC, as opposed to being an ETF, closed-end fund, etc. So it's not fundamentally different than any other collective investment instrument on a cost or earnings basis. Of course 50 Cent himself prefers pumping penny stocks.
posted by burnmp3s at 1:23 PM on February 28, 2011

He's doing it all wrong. You're supposed to take the bundles of twenties and say "How did these get in here?" with a surprised and disgusted look on your face as you throw them aside. Not throw them under the Benjamins to bulk it up.

Well, you know Fiddy gotta stay humble for the streets and all.
posted by yeloson at 1:33 PM on February 28, 2011

I just wanted to say I was very surprised at how roomy, relatively speaking, the front-trunk of the Lambo was.

I mean, sure, you ain't gonna get a set of golf clubs in there. But it looks like there's enough room for two people to pack for a weekend, if they're a little careful about it.

I find this vaguely disturbing.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:54 PM on February 28, 2011

Think he'll give some a that Khadafi money to charity? Nah, doubt it.
posted by fixedgear at 1:57 PM on February 28, 2011

Hey Fiddy Cent that's awesome, look at all that cashola baby, are you gonna drive it down to a school in a low-income black suburb and donate it so that the children grow up and have a chance to get out of the ghetto and have careers and see the world and not die of drugs and shooting? What's that? Oh you're putting all the money in the front of your million dollar car and are going to drive to a shop and use it to buy a necklace.
posted by tumid dahlia at 2:37 PM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

You big wanker.
posted by tumid dahlia at 2:37 PM on February 28, 2011

billyfleetwood: As to 50 cent, I'm not a big fan, but from what I've seen, he's a pretty savvy businessman, and has a pretty good sense of humor.

Ugh, I so hate this trope that someone who is rich is somehow a "savvy" business person. I hate it when applied to celebrities who become very rich, and I hate it when applied to actual businessmen and businesswomen. There's an old saying that goes something like "Turning $100 into $110 is hard work; turning $100 million into $110 million is inevitable".

I'm not going to say that 50 cent (or for that matter Jay-Z or the like) is a "savvy businessman" when what he is appears to be little more than a hateful, misogynistic man of middling talent who was richly rewarded by peddling crappy, lease common denominator music to disaffected youth and urbanites... and then further stumbling ass-backwards into a greater fortune by peddling junk food to Americans. That's not "savvy", it's just cynical and lucky.

I'd hazard that almost any reasonably bright MeFite, if given an existing multi-million dollar fortune and a single-minded desire to be richer, would do just as well if not much better for themselves.
posted by hincandenza at 2:46 PM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]

least
posted by fixedgear at 2:54 PM on February 28, 2011

There's an old saying that goes something like "Turning $100 into $110 is hard work; turning $100 million into $110 million is inevitable".

Except, of course, that it is not. A surprisingly large fraction of people who come into a lot of money end up blowing it.
posted by Justinian at 3:07 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

"front trunk" is the new "front butt"
posted by Eideteker at 3:30 PM on February 28, 2011

I fully expect his views (or someones) on rape will come up. The Godwin of the blue.

Huh?
posted by hal_c_on at 4:18 PM on February 28, 2011

what he is appears to be little more than a hateful, misogynistic man of middling talent who was richly rewarded by peddling crappy, lease common denominator music to disaffected youth and urbanites...

But you do like 'In Da Club' right?
posted by jnnla at 4:18 PM on February 28, 2011

YO DAWG I HEARD YOU LIKE STATUS SYMBOLS SO I PUT A STATUS SYMBOL IN YOUR STATUS SYMBOL SO YOU CAN SHOW OFF WHILE YOU SHOW OFF
posted by Hoopo at 4:18 PM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]

Justinian: Except, of course, that it is not. A surprisingly large fraction of people who come into a lot of money end up blowing it.

Come now, you're being willfully disingenuous, as you know what I mean: yes, lottery winners and sports stars/celebrities who develop lifestyles of wanton excess will blow through their money stupidly. Anyone who isn't so gluttonous or shortsighted basically will see their money grow steadily.

jnnla: But you do like 'In Da Club' right?

What the heck, did the 50-cent Fan Club just show up? No, not particularly, it's a boring song.
posted by hincandenza at 4:20 PM on February 28, 2011

One of my favourite Metafilter posts ever is about In Da Club.
posted by Nelson at 5:19 PM on February 28, 2011

That's not "savvy", it's just cynical and lucky - hincandenza

Particularly lucky; hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, are trying to achieve the same without any success.

Something sets apart the very limited number that make real money selling least common denominator music to the masses. Business savvy is as a decent term for it as anything. Deep understanding of crowd psychology and marketing is probably more apt though.

Mix that skill set with the foresight to not get shoehorned into a contract with a major record label that trades away your long term royalties for short term cash, or makes you overproduce to the point of flash and burn, and you're right back to "business savvy" though...
posted by oblio_one at 5:57 PM on February 28, 2011

One of my favourite Metafilter posts ever is about In Da Club.

That is great.

I'd also like to add that my mom loves fiddy. She has only ever heard the radio edit of "in da club" and thinks it is sweet that he likes to give hugs to people on their birthday.
posted by Ad hominem at 6:18 PM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

So we steal 50s automobile.
posted by PHINC at 7:37 PM on February 28, 2011

Sheeet. You call that a pile a money? There's a house for sale in Toe-ronto right now that would take 18 of those piddly little piles to buy. And it isn't even a BIG house.

I bet JZ spent that much money just typing his new book. That's almost no money at all.
posted by Twang at 8:00 PM on February 28, 2011

People who claim that 50 cent isn't a business man should watch this interview. While he might not be a genius businessman, I don't think categorizing him as an ignorant thug is exactly accurate.

As for his music appealing to disaffected youth and urbanites, considering his sophomore album's sales for the first week were "the sixth highest-selling album since SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991", I think it's fair to say that 50 cent owes much of his wealth to cross over appeal.
posted by yeahwhatever at 12:17 AM on March 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm not a rap fan but what's wrong with "disaffected youth and urbanites"?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 1:27 PM on March 1, 2011