MUSIC

50 Cent means business

That name may sound cheap, but this million-dollar gangsta rapper is anything but. Now the multiplatinum artist moves beyond music to mogul-dom.
By Raquel Cepeda

Fifty Cent should probably change his name to $50 Million. That's how much the rapper, born Curtis Jackson, reportedly pocketed after taxes last year, thanks to various business ventures. But don't think he's finished. To quote his smash hit "Disco Inferno," "I get dough, to flip dough, to make mo' fo' sho'." The track, from his new album, "The Massacre," was one of three singles featuring 50 Cent in the "Billboard" Top 10 at press time.

Of course, his road to superstardom wasn't paved with crushed diamonds. Before he became a household name, 50, as he's often called, was an unknown convicted felon. After being shot nine times, he was dropped by his old label, Columbia Records. But 50 continued to put out music through the mix-tape circuit, which is how Eminem discovered him. "There was a point," 50 says now, "when only I believed I was going to be successful. My grandma and grandpa were looking at me like, 'Damn, it almost worked.' Now they're happy. I moved them into a new house, bought them new cars." 50 cracks a bright, but fleeting, smile.

It's Tuesday at 11 a.m. (early by hip-hop standards), and 50 already has put in a full day's work selling his most valuable commodity -- himself -- in a small conference room at Interscope Records, his label's parent company. He sports a fitted Yankee cap over a white do-rag, and no bling. An associate carries 50's diamonds in a silver briefcase. He likes to take them out only for photo shoots or public appearances because "that's what the kids want to see."

A half-hour earlier, 50 had arrived in a Suburban from his 18-bedroom estate in Farmington, Conn. He works non-stop, touring and producing hits for Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and, most recently, The Game, whose CD debuted at No. 1 in January. (Word is there's friction between 50 and The Game.)

All the buzz now is on "The Massacre," 50's follow-up to his debut, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." The streets want to know if 50 can top that 2003 album. Produced by his mentors, Eminem and Dr. Dre, "Get Rich" was splattered with violent boasts and rush-the-dance-floor anthems like "In Da Club" and "P.I.M.P." It spent six weeks at No. 1 and beat out more traditional acts like Norah Jones and Shania Twain for the best-selling CD of 2003 -- 11 million copies worldwide, the most ever for a rap debut. And that was just the intro.

At 28, he has grown into a serious, self-disciplined entrepreneur. His empire, G-Unit, includes apparel, video games and ringtones. For 50, it's not about re-inventing the wheel, just putting his own spin on it -- or customizing it.

More than any other artist or athlete on board with Reebok, 50 meets with the company (at least once a month), full of ideas for his line of footwear, which was worn by several players on the Indianapolis Colts last season. "The environment I'm from teaches you to be aggressive or be a victim," he says. At times, 50's even been known to show up unannounced at his record distributor's office for the weekly staff meeting, to steer his own marketing campaign. "We learn so much from him," says Interscope president Jimmy Iovine. "I think 50 is the modern recording artist. He understands how things work and what his audience does and wants. He's what the industry is going to look like in the next five years."

50's always had that kind of hustle. Dealing crack in Queens, N.Y., he was in and out of jail. "It's a non-stop situation when you're on the streets," says 50, who now applies the lessons he learned there to the business world. "If there's money around, you can't leave. You have to get it."

Music has opened up so many doors, but the deal 50 is most excited about is his line of vitamin water, Formula 50. "It showed me thinking outside the box," he says. "With alcohol, you're not supposed to reach people under 21. I wanted a product that would be sensible to everybody."

What else, Fiddy?

To coincide with this month's release of his new CD, beverage marketer Glaceau introduced a platinum label for its popular grape-flavored Formula 50 vitamin water. The drink, co-created by 50, has sold 10 million bottles since its October launch.

In April, MTV Films begins shooting a movie with 50,loosely based on his life and directed by Jim Sheridan ("In America"). The collaboration was suggested by Bono at a party thrown by record mogul Jimmy Iovine. Ex-Tommy Hilfiger model Joy Bryant plays 50's love interest.

In November, Vivendi Universal Games rolls out a fantasy video game set in the drug underworld. 50 already has started recording the 100-plus-page script by "The Sopranos'" Terence Winter (who also wrote the MTV movie), in which our hero takes on New York's most dangerous crime families.

-- Melanie D.G. Kaplan