Women, Hip Hop, and 50 Cent

Some people remember exactly what they were doing when the towers fell. Some remember exactly what they were doing when Pac got shot, when Pac died, when Biggie got shot. I do too. But what I really remember is what I was doing the first time I heard a 50 Cent record.

I was working in Subway in Decatur, GA and was outside having a cigarette when my homeboy pulled into the parking lot blasting a hot mixtape. I could tell from the start that it wasn't any rapper from Atlanta. I'm from Youngstown, OH and though technically we're the Midwest, we were closer to the northern states than the southern ones so I liked NY rap. Nas, Jay-Z, DMX and Em (he reps the Midwest too)...that's what I was listening too. So of course, I stole the CD from my homeboy, yes, that's right, I stole it. I'd never heard of 50 Cent but I liked him. But the only time I ever heard his music was if my friend came by with the new 50 joint. They definitely weren't playing him on the radio stations in the A.

Months later I moved to Hampton, VA. 50 Cent was a little more well known up there and then he dropped Wanksta and it was a wrap. Then Em dropped "Lose Yourself" and I flipped. It was the hottest record out, to me and as soon as the 8 Mile soundtrack was released I bought it. Then what do you know, I'm driving down the street, listening to my new CD and almost got in a damn car accident. I heard 50's voice on 'Love Me' and again on 'Places to Go' and on 'Rap Game', and finally on 'Wanksta'. I was in hip-hop heaven. I listened to that CD everyday, all day, like it was the only CD I owned. I found myself enraptured with his voice, his attitude, damn near everything about the way he rhymed. I wanted more. Everyone in my house (my niece, mother, and sister) like him from day one. We didn't know his story; we didn't know anything about him. We didn't know and didn't care. We liked what we heard and we liked what we saw.

When Get Rich...came out I bought 3 copies, one for me, my 48 yr old mother, and my sister. Hearing the CD seemed to make things feel right, like everything was good in the rap game now. I knew from track one that 50 was going to be hot. I wasn't wrong. 50 is one of the best lyricists out there. He surpasses many and I’m not going to name any names but we all know who he's better than.

As a woman who loves hip-hop and has for a very long time, I pride myself in being able to tell the good from the great and 50 isn't just good. He's one of the greatest. 50 changed the game with Get Rich...No, I take that back, he didn't change it; he merely brought it back to the level it was once at. He brought the realness back. He took it out of the studio and back to the streets where it belongs. When DMX came with It's Dark...I felt the same way.

Let's face the facts here. Rap has changed. It's not even its own genre anymore. It all seems like good club music, stuff you can dance to or sing to. I'm getting real tire of hearing about bling and making it rain. I can't relate to million dollar cars, $5000 bottles of champagne and stupid shit like that. I don't want to hear about it all of the time. I want to put on a rap CD that talks about what I see outside my window, everyday. About the struggle to make it because that's what I’m going through. I want to hear about someone who made it from the same place I did. Shit, I paid $15 for the CD. Tell me something I want to hear! Inspire me!

From day one, that's what rap WAS about. Rappers use to speak from the soul, not about some shit they stole out of a movie. But that went away and fans are starting to get bored. 50 has shed a bright light on what hip-hop really is and that's why so many out there copy his style. He's serious when he flows, whether he's laughing or not. He can rap about so many different topics and switch up his flow so easily, it's impossible to guess what he's going to do next. That’s what makes him hot. That’s why we love him.

People, especially men, act like they don't understand why women love 50 Cent. They think it's the muscles and money. Let me hip you to some game and the real reason we love 50 Cent. We love him because he's special. We love his smile, how he walks, how he talks, how he looks, that's the truth. There are some who really want to meet him at the hotel and see his 'magic stick' but there are some who don't aspire to be hoes or groupies.

We love 50 because he needs to be loved. We want to hug him because he needs a hug. 50 invokes our womanly instincts. He makes us want to nurture him, to embrace him, and to look after him. Put one of 50's cds in and let it play. If you're a woman you'll feel things, things you've only felt for certain people in your life, people that you know and see everyday. You will feel proud of him, likes he's your son, brother, or man. You see how he's survived so much; you see how smart and successful he is. And if you're anything like me, you'll want to see him get bigger and bigger.

Compassion is normally an emotion that women reserve for those most deserving and it's hardly for a man. Most women believe that men ain't shit, ain't never gon be shit and aren't worth the effort. But every once in awhile there's one or two that we feel for. There’s that man that we know isn't a punk. He may be full of shit or a dog or just plain low down but we go out of our way to explain and justify his behavior. We do that for 50 too. We love this man who walks and talks like nothing bothers him. But we are clairvoyant. Did you think that was a myth? We see through bravado too. We KNOW he hurts, we KNOW he struggles. We hate that he was forced to be a man so early. We listen to him and hear his anger, the unshed tears, the pain. We feel for him. This is somebody's child. He has to say what he says and rap about what he does because he has to get that shit off his chest.

We feel that 50 needs to be taken care of. We want him to finally feel safe. We want him to have peace and be comfortable without his crew or bodyguards. We want to shake him and say "why did you say that?" when he makes a comment he shouldn't have. We are so proud to hear him say he's still single, that's he's focused. Because at the very mention of the word girlfriend, visions of groupies and gold-diggers dance in our head.
There was another rapper who made us feel this way...Pac. Women loved 2Pac for so many reasons that some of us even named our kids after him. Pac was the greatest of all time. That’s how I feel so that's what I’m going to say. That doesn't take anything away from any other rapper. But this is about 50. He been compared to Pac and tends to shy away from the comparison. I say, don't do that. Embrace it because 50 has some of the same qualities that Pac had.

Both are beautiful dark brothas who both can rock a pair of jeans and a wifebeater and make it look like a million bucks. Both of them have those expressive and intense eyes. Comparing Pac and 50 is like comparing spring water and mineral water. They’re so similar that they're almost the same. Listen to Pac then listen to 50. You’ll see so many similarities. They both say whatever it is they want to say. Doesn’t even matter that kids may be present. And they both have the tendency to grab your attention with a cool catchy chorus.

Listen to Ambitionz of a Rida. The first line goes 'I can't deny it, I’m a straight rider, you don't want to fuck with me'. Then listen to Many Men. Doesn’t the intro make you want the driver to hurry the hell up and pull off? LISTEN...50 says 'I’m tryin to be what I’m destined to be but niggas want to take my life away...I’ll put a hole in a nigga for fuckin with me'. You can only lie and say that you didn't feel the same thing hearing those two lines. But Pac is dead and hip hop has been suffering. 50 is the one who gave it a swift kick in the ass and that's why we love Curtis.