Your Favorite White Boy

This won’t take long. When 50 Cent first came out, he energized rap with Get Rich Or Die Tryin‘. As YFWB readers know, I respect Fifty for putting a competitive spirit back in the game. He took it to lazy rappers. At the same time, he brought rap to another level of popularity, bringing real, uncompromising street music to the masses. Rap sold millions on its own terms. And ever the businessman, Fifty got rich off selling that image.  I can’t be mad at that.

But since then, the music has become secondary to 50’s path to being the second richest african-american entertainer on earth.  I guess that makes sense: vitamin water, social networking sites, a short-lived MTV shows, an entire crew to support.  Its doesn’t leave a lot of time for, you know, music.  Unfortunately, we have now found out that what made him so successful – his ability to hype himself – is the same thing that is now degrading rap as an artform.  50 has now turned rap into nothing but spectacle.

This latest beef with Rick Ross will go down in history as the first rap beef where the actual songs took a backseat to theatrics.  Its hip-hop wrestling.  In the days of the “Bridge Wars” or LL Cool J vs Kool Moe Dee or even Jigga vs Nas, the lyrics and punchlines were paramount.  Now its about youtube, financial statements, cartoons and radio interviews.  Meanwhile, both sides are pushing out absolute garbage to defend themselves in the booth.  Its all empty calories.

But I understand the plan.   Its WWE.  Its not about being the best, its about the promotion and the only thing that matters is winning – at all costs.  Ever since Ja Rule, Fifty needs to “destroy” a rapper’s career to prevail.  That’s what the fan expect – they want blood.   

So once again, 50 has changes the game by introducing his latest marketing concept: the “rap-free” rap beef.   Once again, rapping is secondary to promotion and controversy – not unlike a cage match, where the acting and the bloodshed is much more important than athletic ability.  Call 50 Cent the new Vince McMahon: excellent at start up ish and hyping it up, but a below average wrestler.

But when looking back, its easy to understand why 50’s targets are soft targets; his track record in actual rap battles is weak.  He has proven time and again that when you use songs and lyrics as the yardstick in which to judge, 50 stays losing.  He couldn’t stop The Game, Fat Joe is coming out with a new album (credibility intact), he got outsold by Kanye, Cam just gave up and he just dropped his beef with Nas altogether.  So now he knows he can’t win a boxing match where skill is required;  now its pure wrestling: he’s taken on a “boss” that has already been exposed as a C.O.  The ultimate opponent!

It is not without irony that 50 is now taking the role of the “Undertaker”.  Everything else is straight WWE, so he might as well become the ultimate character in what is essentially a soap opera for young men.

Tags: 50 Cent, Camron, Fat Joe, Nas, Rick Ross, The Game, wrestling, WWE