This should be a treat for those unfamiliar with 50 Cent’s marketing prowess.
To be blunt, he’s an incredible marketer. Like, if rap didn’t work out, 50 would probably be able to run an agency and make a killing. He’s that good.
From day one, 50 has used unconventional methods to garner attention. Even today, he still employs those same techniques to get shine. There was a time in his career when the record labels blackballed him (i.e. stopped him from getting a deal anywhere), yet he was able to get back into the music industry using some of the examples I’ll drop below.
First He Showed us How To Rob people
Diss records are inextricably linked with hiphop, so much so that brands will sometimes diss each other online.
But that trend itself traces back to a time when 50 Cent needed to make a name for himself as a rapper. Having a limited budget, Fif only had a few options to get the buzz he needed for a major label deal. Being the great marketer that he is, 50 decided to create record entitled How To Rob.
What was the song about? Glad you asked!
How to Rob described how 50 Cent would rob each famous rapper in the game. In detail, he literally talked about how he would run up xyz rapper and take them for everything they’ve got!
The record itself was so controversial that 50 Cent was banned from many radio stations in fear of what the retaliation from that record would be. However, it garnered so much buzz that 50 – who was just a budding street rapper at the time elicited a response from JAY-Z, who was the hottest rapper in the game at the time.
JAY’s response on a record said “I”m all about a dollar, what the f**k is 50 cents” – He didn’t know it at the time, but those bars cemented 50’s rise as an upcoming NY rapper, and the rest was history.
Then He Threatened to Retire
50 proved with How To Rob that he was never one to shy away from confrontation. This became even clearer as his career developed when he threatened to retire.
In 2007, 50 Cent was gearing up for his 3rd album “Curtis.” By then, G-Unit was a hip-hop juggernaut, but 50’s status as a business mogul had fans wondering if he’d continue creating music.
If that wasn’t enough, album sales were declining in response to streaming and a “changing of the guards” was occurring in hip-hop; The sound was now more about dance music and southern hip-hop.
But like a true marketer, 50 recognized that this was the perfect opportunity to reclaim everyone’s attention. How did he recognize this opportunity? By realizing that another star just as big as he was also had an album dropping that year; None other than Kanye West.
50 challenged Kanye West to a battle of sorts involving album sales. The Twist? If 50 Cent lost, he would announce his retirement from hip-hop. What ensued was one of the biggest public feuds of 2007 and both Kanye West’s “Graduation” album and 50 Cent’s “Curtis” went on to become huge commercial successes.
And yes. I bought both albums.
And He’s Always Ready To Speak His Truth
The core of what makes 50 Cent great at guerilla marketing is that he’s able to use any and every moment to his advantage regardless of whether he has something to sell or not.
Just two years ago, a text thread went viral showing an exchange between 50 and a movie producer where he demanded his money back from investing. The producer apologized but made the mistake of calling 50 “fofty.”
Normally, a faux pas like this would be a joke that lasts a day or so on Twitter, but 50 used this birth an entire social campaign where he renamed himself “fofty”
And Fofty’s job was to go around and publicly shaking down everyone who owed him money.
That seems crazy, right?
But people who think that 50 Cent is crazy for doing these things can’t see the method to the madness. None of the public feuds are random. In fact, they are all calculated.
Take a look at this clip below from Chamillionaire, where he gives us an insider view on why 50 Cent does what he does.
And that’s 50’s formula in a nutshell!
Like a true marketer, Fif knows how to use the brand of “50 Cent” to create different stories that further his actual goals. He can incite a beef with anyone from a Hollywood actor to a record exec and generate just enough buzz to keep us tuned into his next play.
So, the next time you see two brands publicly feuding or releasing diss tracks keep in mind that they’re taking a page out of 50’s playbook. And again, they’re following trends that were created by hip-hop culture.
Peace.