50 Cent admitted he missed a major opportunity when a young Chris Brown auditioned for a G-Unit campaign, revealing he didn’t know how to market a teenage talent at the time.
On Monday morning (November 10), the rapper-turned-mogul shared a throwback clip from the “R&B Money” podcast, where Brown recounted his early brush with 50 Cent during what would become a pivotal moment in his career.
“It was for a G-Unit campaign,” Brown said, recalling a major booking that gave him his first real shot. “So I was like you know what, ’50 Cent he gone be able to see us. He’s going to be at the shoot, we can give him our demo, we can sing.’ You know, the typical like I want to get signed s###.”
That led to a backstage hangout with 50 Cent during the shoot, where the then-teenage performer tried to make an impression.
“We were bad little kids,” Brown said. “We already had weed and s###, so we was trying to smoke our weed on the side. They like, ‘Man what y’all doing?’ So we like ‘Nah, we rap and we sing. So we started performing and then they was like, ‘You know what man y’all n##### is dope.’”
Despite being impressed, one person on 50’s team made it clear they weren’t ready to handle young talent.
“But we don’t know how to f###### market no damn kids, we some gangsters,” Brown recalled being told. “So I was like, ‘Damn.’ Like I understood it.”
Reflecting on that moment, 50 Cent posted the clip to Instagram with a caption that hinted at a tinge of regret:
“I knew CB had it back then, I just didn’t know how to market kids,” he explained. “I went to award shows to see him get busy now he is the best we got. Like it or not !”
50 Cent Hails Chris Brown “Best Overall Artist”
Their relationship has since evolved. In May, 50 publicly supported Brown after his arrest in the UK, tied to an alleged nightclub assault. “CB out he made bond,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m only saying s### about him because I think he is the best over all artist out. I watched his whole run!”
By June, Brown returned the love by bringing out 50 Cent as a surprise guest during his Breezy Bowl XX performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena.
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