By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Being outspoken is what initially landed 50 Cent his record deal with Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment, both of which are distributed by Interscope Records. Quickly, 50 Cent proved he had a strong business acumen, in his own right. Due to his popularity and the popularity of his G-Unit crew, Interscope Records granted 50 Cent his own label, which he named G-Unit Records.
Everything went well between 50 Cent and Interscope Records in the early years. G-Unit Records became the latest hip hop dynasty, releasing highly-successful albums from the G-Unit group, then Lloyd Banks, followed by Young Buck. Even Aftermath transplant, The Game, found success with G-Unit Records. At the end of 2004, 50 Cent began promoting his music, most of which he had written, and released his album in January 2005.
However, 50 Cent and The Game would soon begin feuding, leading 50 Cent to banish him from G-Unit, both the group and label. With 50 Cent being the biggest star on the label, Dr. Dre had no choice aside from releasing The Game from Aftermath Entertainment, also. Still too valuable to rid, altogether, Interscope Records allowed The Game to sign a new deal with subsidiary label, Geffen Records. The Game would easily establish himself as one of the most-popular rappers in the game without 50 Cent and Dr. Dre. This would give The Game enough base to begin successfully dissing 50 Cent.
By 2006, G-Unit’s popularity waned and 50 Cent began calling Young Buck out. Still, in 2007 Young Buck released his second album, which was not nearly as successful as his debut three years prior. 50 Cent also released an album in 2007, which was delayed several times, and did not sell as well as his previous two albums. Upset, 50 Cent blamed this on the promotion from Interscope Records, which he said has been lacking since he first signed with the label. 50 Cent announced he would leave Interscope Records when he completed his contract. Following the release of his previous album, Before I Self Destruct, which has barely gone gold, 50 Cent established a new deal with EMI Records.
50 Cent has made it abundantly clear there is nothing left for him at Interscope Records. At one point, 50 Cent said he would simply release mixtapes and promote their videos, thus ending his support of the music he records for his label. 50 Cent retracted this statement and revealed he was back in the studio, working on his long-awaited fifth studio album. However, on Twitter, 50 Cent was telling a different story, when a fan asked him if he was still recording the album. 50 Cent told the fan, he had to “fall back” on recording the new album.
