Continuing the weekend theme of DIY hip hop, check out the Village Voice’s article about 50 Cent:
You see, last year, while Nas and Jay-Z held radio debates, turned performances into political rallies, and spent consumer contributions on big-budget ads in the race to be King of New York, Queens’ 50 Cent (with his two-man G Unit crew) conducted a more grassroots campaign, glad-handing mix-tape DJs, bootleggers, and Internet pirates while supplying them with enough music to make Tupac Shakur’s ashes sit up and take notice. 50 became a Black Market unto himself, eventually eliminating the middleman and putting out his own compilations of freestyles, remakes, and original numbers. (full story)
The music I’ve heard from 50 Cent so far hasn’t grabbed me, but I may give the record closer attention in the weeks to come.