This may be an extremely unpopular opinion, but I’ll just go out on a limb and say it: I’ve always been a fan of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Now that that is out in the open, let me tell you why. First, and foremost, as a fellow Cancer, I can (sometimes) understand his level of petty — the Diddy documentary (“Sean Combs: The Reckoning” as it’s called on Netflix) being the most recent example of it. Now do I always act out on my petty thoughts? Absolutely not, but I will say, his latest power move made me realize maybe I’m not using my free will enough. Secondly, he is one of the most brilliant business minds of this generation, whether you have personal feelings about him or not.
Because if we’re being real, 50 Cent the business man was always focused on the long game. While everyone else was focused on album sales and beef (I’m not going to say he didn’t have beef, because he definitely did), he was also out here playing chess. Take for example the Vitaminwater deal, that really was one of the first deals of its kind back in the day for a hip hop artist. In 2004, when most rappers were collecting their coins and moving on, Curtis took equity instead. Not just his face on a bottle, but having actual ownership of a billion dollar brand. When Coca-Cola bought Glacéau in 2007 for $4.1 billion, estimates put Fif’s cut somewhere between $60-100 million. And then on top of it, had us rapping, “I took quarter water, sold it in bottles for two bucks. Then Coca-Cola came and bought it for billions, what the…”
50 saw what hip-hop moguls before him did and what they didn’t do, and he made different choices. While others were satisfied with being the face of the brand, he wanted to own a piece of it. Again, chess not checkers.
But let’s talk about what really cemented his mogul status: television. In 2014, 50 executive produced Power with Courtney Kemp for Starz, and that show became a cultural phenomenon and still stands as Starz’s highest-rated series. By 2018, he’d negotiated what was reportedly a four-year, $150 million overall deal with the network. A rapper. From South Jamaica, Queens. Became one of the highest-paid producers in premium cable. And you’re still telling me you don’t like 50?
The Power universe alone is its own empire now. Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Force all came from that one hit show, and are now an entire franchise based on those initial characters. Then there’s Black Mafia Family, For Life, and a whole slate of other projects through G-Unit Film & Television. When he left Starz in 2022, it wasn’t because he was done. It’s because he was ready to expand. In February 2023, he signed a deal with Fox to develop scripted dramas, comedies, and animated series. The man is literally building a content empire right in front of us.
Which brings us to the Diddy documentary that just dropped on Netflix December 2nd. Sean Combs: The Reckoning is a four-part series executive produced by 50 with director Alexandria Stapleton, and yes, it’s exactly what you think it is. For anyone who’s followed 50’s decades-long back-and-forth with Diddy, this documentary feels like the ultimate “I told y’all” moment. And whether you think it’s petty or not (and let’s be honest, it definitely is), it’s also strategic. 50 announced he was working on this documentary back in December 2023, after the Cassie lawsuit. He’s been vocal about Diddy’s alleged behavior when nobody else in hip-hop would say a word. And now? It’s one of the most talked-about documentaries of the year.
In an interview with ESSENCE back in 2021, bringing up the argument that artists shouldn’t care about being recognized for their work, 50 told us, “That’s like when they say money doesn’t matter — until you need some. Does it matter, does it not matter that people are not being conscious of the success of the project? Only because your legacy won’t reflect what you’ve actually done in your work.”
Because it is kind of nuts to think that someone who’s sold over 30 million albums worldwide, who had one of the biggest debut albums in hip-hop history with Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and has only won one Grammy (but we can get into the business of the GRAMMYs at some other point).He’s been nominated 14 times, but only walked away with one trophy (in 2010, for “Crack a Bottle” with Eminem and Dr. Dre.)— and it was for a song with two other artists.
Having also called out the GRAMMYs in the past for not acknowledging his success as a rap artist, 50 also told us: “The things that weren’t acceptable and considered aggressive in music culture — and that would be a reason why they don’t necessarily want to give me a trophy — are things that are absolutely acceptable in film and television. So I can tell the same story and they go ‘Wow look at this.’ But this is the same thing you said was wrong when I told you the story in the music.”
And remember when I told you I’ve always admired Fif? It’s because of that same brilliance. He didn’t change his narrative to fit what Hollywood wanted, he just changed the medium (there’s a word here for anyone who hasn’t caught it yet). The same stories that were too “aggressive” for the GRAMMYs became Emmy-worthy content when told through Power. And speaking of Emmys, did I mention that 50 won one in 2022 as an executive producer of the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar?
By January 2020, when 50 received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the validation was coming from a completely different industry. Eminem and Dr. Dre were there to honor him, and Eminem spoke about knowing from their first meeting in 2002 that 50 would be a star. “He was the whole package,” Em said. It was a full-circle moment for someone who survived being shot nine times and getting dropped from his first label, only to build an empire on his own terms.
What really sets 50 apart isn’t just his business moves or his ability to stay relevant. It’s that he refuses to play by anyone else’s rules. He took equity when other artists took endorsement checks. He built a TV empire when his peers were still focused solely on touring and album cycles. He called out industry BS when everyone else stayed quiet. And now, with the Diddy documentary, he’s showing us yet again that he’s willing to do what others won’t.
Love him or hate him, the underdog has always been on top (see what I did there?), you can’t deny what Curtis Jackson has accomplished. From South Jamaica Queens to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, from “In Da Club” to running one of the most successful production companies in television, he’s done it all while staying unapologetically himself. And maybe that’s the lesson we can take from his rise from rapper to mogul.