50 Cent-The Controversial Rapper - Research Paper Example

?Rashed Aldarwish ENGL-2050 May 8, 50 Cent-The Controversial Rapper A research proposal 50 cent is undoubtedly a well known rapper despite the criticism he receives for his songs or despite the fact that he has a declining fan base, he remains well known. A person becomes famous through his actions whether positive or negative and it can be said that with today’s media highlighting the negatives more than ever, negative actions are a sure shot method to become famous. It is the same with rapper 50 Cent who seems to be floating on the air of euphoria created through controversies. This paper discusses the theory that 50 Cent is more famous because of controversies rather than his music. Further, this paper will point out how harsh, negative lyrics of his songs have been the reason for him being criticized in the music circle but becoming famous among the people. The overall goal is to show that rather than being a talented artist 50 Cent is a clever artist who survives through all the controversies he’s involved in. 50 Cent has been known as the one straight out of streets. His biography and all the details about him are splashed with details about his difficult past and the way he had grown up in a family where his mother was a hustler. His mother died when he was young and soon his father died. He was left to be taken care of by his grandmother according to whom he’s a sweet child, much against the views of others. Having such a difficult past and having faced all the difficulties that do explain partly the way he is and the way he behaves. Therefore, I think reading a person’s biography before reading other articles about him is essential in understanding the kind of person. In her article, Zonda Hughes (2003) describes the life of 50 Cent, a.k.a Curtis Jackson, explaining that his life can be summarized as being a compilation of 9 lives. Even though the article does not criticize the rapper artist as such but does provide a brief overview of the life of the artist. Right from being the son of the notorious drug trafficker to entering the same profession as his mother and being jailed to shooting to stardom with his hard hitting lyrics. Hughes mentions it all. 50 Cent has created an image of his that shows him as being the tough guy who has seen it all and it is this image that is the reason for his popularity. It is difficult to deny that his popularity is not based on his hard image as he himself has always proclaimed himself to be the one who has seen the toughest things and has gone through some of the most difficult situations, surviving being shot 9 times is certainly a difficult situation. Whether making controversial statements like not being ashamed of being a drug trafficker or whether his own destiny that leads him to controversial situations, he definitely seems like controversies’ favourite child. He has been accused of starting the trend of gangsta rap again and is hated because he might have started the trend of gangster fights in the industry again that saw the death of many famous rappers. He has brought the era back when hip-hop industry saw hatred amongst each other. However, he does not seem perturbed about those accusations and instead glorifies his gangster image. Even though the rapper claims that his life was not his choice but he definitely loves being the bad boy and earning the popularity for being a bad boy. As both he and Hughes (2003) acknowledges, bad boys are famous with both women and men, with women because they seem more attractive and with men because they establish a sense of style. He is referred to as hip-hop entrepreneur in his biography and it is true that he is a clever entrepreneur who knows how to stay in the business by making shocking statements. Even though his hard work can not be ignored but his urge to become famous and rich means that he chooses to do so no matter what the means. He has been described in his biography as one having a viciously funny personality who will get rich or die trying. Adam Bernanrd (2003) notes how full of drama this rapper’s life is and how fully he lives up to this drama to become the well known rapper that he is. Right from the start the rapper’s life has been just as dramatic as a movie and despite being the bad guy he is famous and loved because he is the guy who managed to survive through all the turmoil. He is typical anti-hero from a movie and is just as much hated as he’s loved by people because he’s a very interesting character who is hard to understand. 50 Cent has perhaps been clever enough to realize the addiction of people to anti-hero characters and hence probably has made it a point to establish himself as being one and hence tries to make all the shocking statements or pick up fights with his counterparts. His name also has all the drama necessary to evoke a response by audiences. His name is after the notorious drug lord 50 Cent. He almost glorifies the name and the name further sticks to his tough and hard image. It certainly must have been a deliberate attempt to gather spotlight to his image. 50 Cent is someone who is not afraid to use gun on the label of his CD despite the general sentiment against the use of guns and violence because he considers that guns and street life are correlated and having dealt with all the gory things of street he considers it right to use and describe the same stuff. He prefers ignoring the established rules of society and challenges them. It is probably in his daring to challenge societal norms that he draws both flacks for it and his fan base who are mostly rebellious youngsters. It is hard to ignore the fact that 50 Cent is well aware of his fan base and does things to keep his fan base. Despite 50 Cent’s explanation on his style he certainly has a habit to make controversial statements and being involved in controversies whether it’s his involvement in drugs or being shot at 9 times or his challenge to Kanye West or his recent statements made in reference to Tasunami hit Japan. Kelefa Sanneh (2003) describes how the rapper’s style is suggestive of vengeance and how he mouths every word with a grimace. The author describes his various gimmicks that established him as the entertainer of the hip-hop industry. Right from rhyming over to other people’s beats to starting ridiculous quarrels with people that always kept him in spotlight. He has definitely tried all the means that would keep him in the spotlight. 50 Cent makes vicious jokes at his counterparts and his lyrics are full of hatred. His lyrics are suggestive of hatred for those who get in his way to stardom. Despite this single-mindedness he is still famous because he is highly competitive. Sanneh (2003) says that his world is a man’s world where there’s always an ongoing war. Kelefa (2003) in another article writes about the concert at Nassau coliseum, not too far from Queens, where the rapper performed along with performances by other rappers. Kelefa describes how 50 Cent has become so famous because of his songs describing his hard life on the streets and lyrics mocking his counterparts. Yet in the concert it was his appearance that was the least disappointing amongst others. He was there to woo audiences had his performance all planned and lived up to the name that he has created for himself. The author explains that people love 50 Cent because he appears as being both tough and vulnerable at the same time. Even though his lyrics are tough but there are also places where one can almost sympathize with the man for being the way he is. The hip-hop industry or for that matter the pop industry survives because of the various gimmicks by the artists but it is the hip-hop industry which remains an intriguing subject because of all the drama associated with it, whether it’s rivalry among rappers or their obsession with fancy diamonds and gold and everything that suggests “I’m rich” or the mysterious shootings and deaths of some of the legends of the hip-hop industry. The industry has seen it all and somehow the image has stuck with the industry. 50 Cent seems to have only exaggerated the image. With all the controversies that 50 Cent is involved in, it only seems that he does so for the shock value. Even though his hard past can not be denied but that does not mean he is supposed to take a mug shot at everyone else who’s famous and rich. He’s just desperate for the success which is revealed by his recent rivalry with Kanye West. Even though he has mellowed down a little but he still makes controversial statements to remain in the spotlight. His fan base is declining because people are tired of all the hatred that is served in his songs. He might have enjoyed success because of his hard lyrics initially but there’s a limit to the extent one can live through such gimmicks. This must be the reason that he makes controversial statements now and then. Raymond Fiore (2005) in his article comments that what made 50 Cents latest single, the Massacre, a sold-out copy, is due to the news linking him to the death of one of the members of his label mate, whom he had fired few days earlier. Fiore said that the publicity created by the killing incident made the single popular. Fiore suggests that it is controversies like these that are responsible for increase in the sale of his songs much more than the song itself. It is hard to ignore that such songs only create a negative effect on young minds. Besides they also lead to an image of the African-American community that is not true. People generally associate them with violence and have negative feelings for them so while 50 Cent generates hype through such image it only creates a negative impact on the lives of several other people. Young people who constitute the fan base of 50 Cent are under the impression that it’s ok to be violent because it makes you tough. Such negative impressions on young minds because of artists like 50 Cent are responsible for the increasing violence in the society. Vanessa Jones (2007) explains the view about the changing behavior and culture, wherein today, a mindset is being seen that embraces and celebrates worst behaviors that once were not acceptable are now accepted and occurring as a commonplace. She articulated that hip-hop is being blamed for these negative changes, but this behavior happens not only among the ghettos but also among the white teenagers who are the hip-hop consumers. In today’s music, Jones (2007) said, the message relayed is the experience being “co-opted, repackaged and distributed in the mainstream for public consumption”. Example related to this is the joke created by 50 Cents, which says “you have to be shot three times to get a record contract”. Further, message such as “I’m real, I’m a real gangsta, I’m a real hoodrat”, creates imagery among the youth that makes them think it is good. She believes that there is a fascination imbibed on the children, such that she referred to party incidences where teenagers come dressed up in prison jumpsuits, wearing handcuffs and the like. Tricia Romano (2010) describes the characteristics of 50 Cents as someone having a homophobia, an irrational hatred of homosexuality. The author covered the tweets of 50 Cents that revealed much of him. For instance, author quoted 50 Cents, saying: “If you a man and you over 25 and you don’t eat pu’’y just kill yourself, damn it,” he tweeted. “the world would be a better place. Lol.” This, and other incidents, 50 Cents himself tweeted on the SNS, create an image of the rapper as someone who is not serious, always joking, loud mouth, and someone who is hard to read. With all the gimmicks and statements that 50 Cent makes, it’s hard to believe that he does so with no intention of being in the spotlight. He himself accepts that he shouldn’t always be taken seriously and that mostly he does so for shock value. From his previous image of being a tough guy he now just comes across as someone trying really hard just to stay in the business. It seems like he has lost all the right motivation and is just doing things to keep him in the entertainment industry. Having read in detail about the rapper, I would like to conclude by saying that even though 50 Cent started off as being someone right from the streets who knew everything about it, he has turned to mean ways and cheap gimmicks to sustain his popularity which only create a negative impression on the minds of people. Even though he had been credited rightfully for his initial success but as his declining popularity and fan base suggests that he no longer uses his talent the way he used it back when he was new to the industry. It can be said that all the success has only spoilt him. He definitely is a bad example to the society for he says things and does them without thinking twice. He considers that his gangster image is cool and is the sole reason for his success and hence he tries to stick to it. However, it is this image that draws the fleck for him and is the reason that he shouldn’t be emulated. Bibliography Hughes, Zondra. The 9 lives of 50 Cent: rap star survives shootings, stabbing and death threats. 2003. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_10_58/ai_105853303/ Biography. 50 cent source. http://articles.50centsource.com/Biography/ Bernard, Adam. ReactMag. 2003. http://articles.50centsource.com/Article1/ Sanneh, Kelefa. 50 Cent, Hip-Hop’s necessary nuisance. 2003. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/09/arts/music-spins-50-cent-hip-hop-s-necessary-nuisance.html Sanneh, Kelefa. Music in review; 50 Cent. 2003. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/28/movies/music-in-review-50-cent.html Sanneh, Kelefa. Critic’s Choice: Curtis. 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/arts/music/10choi.html?ref=50cent Romano, Tricia, 50 Cent’s Gay Suicide Controversy, The Daily Beast, 26 Oct. 2010 http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-10-06/50-cents-gay-suicide-twitter-controversy/ Jones, Vanessa, The Ghetto Culture Machine. 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