Sometimes hard times shapes your future. That’s the case for 50 Cent, who has never shied away from discussing how the attempt on his life altered everything about his path in hip hop. In a recent conversation with Fox News, the Queens legend explained how being hit nine times pushed him to rethink his entire approach. “It shifted my concept,” he said. “My first album was going to be Power of a Dollar. Then it became Get Rich or Die Tryin. The stakes just got higher.”
Just a trip back to that near-death experience, it forced him to regroup and move independently after Columbia Records cut ties. With no major label backing, 50 had to carve out his own lane. “The record company’s not answering the phone anymore. Everything’s changing. You have to figure it out on your own,” he recalled. That realization gave birth to G-Unit and a flood of mixtapes that lit up the streets, eventually catching the attention of Eminem and leading to his deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath.
If you recall, the breakout moment came with “Wanksta,” a track that took on a life of its own. During a BET.com interview celebrating the song’s 20th anniversary, 50 explained how its momentum was built from the ground up. “That record was organically connected. DJs were picking it up on their own, with no label telling them to play it. It was just moving.” With names like Stretch Armstrong helping amplify it, the song became impossible to ignore.
Its impact was so strong that it even sparked a debate inside Shady Records. “There was a point where Paul Rosenberg wanted to pull ‘Wanksta’ and replace it with a track me and Em did for the 8 Mile soundtrack. I told him, nah, just put that one on 8 Mile. And that’s what happened.”
From the chaos of surviving nine gunshots to creating one of rap’s most iconic debut albums, 50 Cent’s story remains a testament to resilience, reinvention, and how pressure can transform pain into legacy.