BONUS: 50 Cent on New TV Deals, Classics, Nas - and Why He Told Ari Melber ‘You're #1'

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1:09This is the coolest studio. It looks good on you. So we got an anniversary. But before we even get to that, this week you just inked this new deal. Right. It is a non-exclusive Fox broadcast deal. Right. Sounds like a big deal, but explain what it is. It's exciting for me. It's an opportunity to work with Fox. And there's the non-exclusive part of it. That's because my last deal was an exclusive deal to start. This deal allows me to work with everyone. So at the present moment, I have 24 shows across 10 different networks. But I'll be focusing on getting some things over to Fox so I can fulfill a deal that we just did.

1:48It's non-exclusive. But they'll have the first fight. I'll show them things first. Yeah, and your TV numbers are wild. A lot of people know you as 50 Cent the artist, as 50 Cent the communicator, the analyst. That's sometimes what we talk. But you've sort of first quietly and now loudly become a big mogul in television. For people who don't know about that, how'd that happen? And is it your same storytelling or is it something different that you're tapping? Well, I mean, some of it is similar to the experience and some of the themes that I've offered in music. But a lot of it is different. You'll see some things from me that you go, wow, like I didn't even know there was interest there.

2:28It's because when you see the trades go out, like when the announcements of the Fox dealers and Variety and Hollywood Report, all of these, that's a message to business insiders. My phone goes further than most publications. Like 100 million people following your social media. Let me slow down the point you're making because it's deep, but it's factual. Because of the global reach you have, you don't need a website headline to reach anybody. Exactly. You reach 20, 30, 50 million people like that. Through the phone, right? Through the phone. You're saying you're doing that to communicate what to these sort of businesses?

3:05To business insiders. If you want the show to sell, you bring it to me. Period. Yeah. So let's look at what you're doing here. 17 dramas, two comedies, five unscripted. I'm going to ask you the dumb question. We don't always do the smart question. You know me. The dumb question is, what do you say when you sit down with one of these executives and they go, oh, I thought you were, quote, just a rapper? Oh, I'm just a lot of things. I'm just a lot of things. And they'll get a chance to learn more about it as we go. Because I'm having success at this. very similar to my success in music. Facts. The first album, largest debut hip-hop album, the first television series, the highest rated show on the Stars Network, which gives me the leverage to build out the only thing you could compare the power universe to right now, I would think, is Yellowstone.

3:57In terms of reach. Yeah, and it's bigger because of the network and where it's positioned. It's funny because when you mentioned your first album, which we're going to talk about, your studio album, a huge debut, Get Rich or Die Trying. What people didn't know is it came off the strength of mixtapes, off Ghetto Courant, off what you build in the street. Is that also the model you're using where you build up? Yeah, when you build, you got to have a cool audience. So if the cool audience is coming from music culture, when you have things that are relatable to them, then I know that audience. I know what they'll respond to, what they won't respond to.

4:33You know, there's also a statistic here that the your film company, G-Unit, the top four series in black households in America, Force, Ghost, Raising Canaan, BMF, all from you. What's that about? Because let's be clear, there's a lot of other programming that's available. Right. That's a cool stat. But I'm not making television shows for just black households. Right. You know, diversity. I don't think diversity is black. Some people interpret Usain diversity as if it's black. I think it's showing, you know, all different cultural sides of things. Yeah. You know, and I want to expand it and make it even bigger.

5:13And you'll see different. The numbers are going to continuously go up on certain projects. Like you'll see Force come in with Joe Chacor at the head of it. It's how it's technically a black show with a white lead. because it's forced. If you called it, it's the number one show in black households, but you have a white guy as the lead of the actual series. So it's cool. You'll start to see maybe the audience that would watch Ozark tap in to see what's going on in the power universe. I mean, Killer Mike did do an Ozark cameo, but it is a predominantly Caucasian show. I think it's fair to say. Yeah, but I like it.

5:56I watched Ozark. It's hard. It was hard. You couldn't watch really good cinematography if you weren't watching white cinematography. So, like, when you make an all-white show, you're up against the best cinematography, period. It has to be phenomenal. It has to be great for it to stand out and be a big hit. When you're aiming at diversity, if the quality is up to standard, because there's a lot of stuff that were made bad. Ari, they made bad movies. Cheap movies, trying to make them without studios and full production companies and things behind them because they were trying to do it themselves in early stages.

6:37So when you see a bad film, it's usually shot bad from Urban. We've launched things that I knew weren't actually good that really did extremely well because it was shot well. Do you find that then that can be frustrating? I didn't know if you like take certain classic films that we think of in that space and people have an opinion of them. And you're saying what people don't realize is that was also the front end investment determined how it looked, whether it felt prestigious. Yeah. Yeah. Like a lot, a lot of times they'll look and the audience is interpreting a lot different from the business itself.

7:11Like a lot of my favorite films, they would say, oh, that's a small movie or a little movie. And I'm like, what was little about that? Like, that was like my favorite film at that point. Like, you know what I mean? Like sometimes things they like love in basketball. It was like a big hit to me. Like, oh, my Epps is forever that. To me, Saniye Lathan is going to be dope to me forever for that. You know, that time period. We think about your quote, Hustler's Ambition. Right. Are you good now? You got this Fox deal, you're big time, or do you still find that people are undervaluing some of what you and your team are doing?

7:47They're going to always undervalue what you're doing. There's never gonna look at it and, I think, well, look, if they were overvaluing what you was doing, you'd have a really good lifeguard. Okay. But they're gonna always look at things and, I mean, on the outside judging things as you go, if you're doing things that people haven't done before, no one has had a successful career producing television from music. So this is the first. You know, all of the things that you've seen, like we've had huge success with Will Smith, with Mark Wahlberg, with L.O. Cool J, with Ice Cube. You know, a lot of people who started out musical talents, they turned into big stars like Queen Latifah.

8:36And, you know, it's a lot of them. But there's but in film, not in television. So they're seeing it for the first time. Right. Right. And so in that sense, they have to adjust from the other reason we're here, how people first got to meet you as this rapper. We'll look at this shot. We put this together that this is new billboard cover, classic source, classic XXL with Dre and Eminem. We're marking 20 years of get rich or die trying. Let's just start. And, you know, we like to get in the mood. Let's start by looking at it.

9:1450 Cent is here. We just signed 50 Cent to Dr. Dre and Eminem. You know, we believed in him. 50 Cent Mania is to rap what Beatle Mania was to rock music back in the day, man. The rap star is here. 50 Cent. Ah. He's considered the number one rap guy in the world right now. You've been shot. How many times have you been shot? Nine times. Nine times. The G-Unit General has the number one album in the country. That was... Go ahead. That was fun. That was La La. And it was MTV who was doing that. 20 years later, does it feel like 20 years, and are you the same guy? It feels great. I'm not the same person, though.

9:51I've adjusted. You know, a lot of information, a lot of new things. It's obvious, like, M, he looks and he goes, yo, this is cool, but I'll be bugging because I go, how does he know how to do that? Like, because. Then. Yeah. Yeah. Like, now, and then when we get to now, like, the television production, and stuff like that and looks and goes, yo, it's bugged out. Did you even know how to do that stuff? Because, you know, we zeroed in and were so focused on making the right music that that was just it. Like, you didn't really look for nothing else to do. Yeah. I just kind of got bit by the bug and did it a little different because.

10:33Well, this is why it's fun to talk about the anniversary. You did it different, but it was embraced globally. Yeah. Continuously since then. So we have some of the numbers here. People might know I like 50 Cent, but I didn't make these numbers. In the club, nine times platinum. 21 questions, four times. Many men, triple platinum. Same for PIMP. Patially waiting, featuring Eminem you mentioned. If I can't, what up, gangster? And then other tracks on it that people love, like My Style, High All the Time, Don't Push Me. did you know you were making that many hits number one and number two was that a different era that we'll never return to because you know rappers today they'll put out a six song sampler like that was three albums worth today yeah it was that was 19 cuts it was like one song short of a double cd and if like now everything in that my thought process like everything about me was a hit for hip hop at that point because even the songs that i missed that missed the album that i recorded like like pass it like magic stick worked for lil kim's next album and other things but these were ideas that i developed for get rich die trying to make the cut and you seem to use what in the culture sometimes we say so oh he's hard he's tough you seem to use that to then go in other directions like you know they say oh nixon could go to china because he was nixon yeah it's It's like you go to 21 questions talking about love, and it worked.

12:05Dre didn't even want you to do that at first, right? No, he says, I know what this is. It's NWA. It's just one member, and you really don't need it. He didn't know why I wanted to put the record on it. Why did you? Because I wanted ladies that felt like maybe they can fix me. And I had done so many push-ups that I felt like this is going to be good for my love life. Are you joking? No, I'm dead serious. You thought, I'll put that song on and I'll have better relationships or options. I thought that they would see some way that they could possibly fix me or understand me in a different way. And their favorite line on the song was, I love you like a fat kid loves cake.

12:45Yeah. And, you know, when I wrote it, I was thinking, I love you, but too much of you is no good for me. Like a fat kid loves cake. Yeah. I think there's a song by Lloyd Banks, Cake, as well. The Cake, yeah. This is why he's ours. He's ours. This is hip-hop culture for real right here. And then, look, the scariest thing is, look, the platform that you're on, it says the first thing they say to you when you go to media training is stay away from politics and stay away from religion. Okay, like a first date. You see what it did to Kanye? Politics and religion. Together, that was a lot for him, although it was more than politics, some would say.

13:23But I feel you, but you're not afraid to be in this platform. On this platform, we love you here. Ah, yeah. It makes it comfortable for a large portion of our culture to feel at home on an actual platform like that. So this is a big part of why you're number one. Hey, thank you, 50. When we were looking over the anniversary, I said, it's not just the audience, which is dope. You have this clear connection long term with your audience. But as we all grow up and you're evolving, doing all these different business things, the younger artists today keep invoking you. American rappers, Nigerian Afro beats.

13:58It's really something and respect. We have hip hop 50 respect to all the legends. Let's be real. Not everyone's being invoked this way. So we made something. This is we made this airing for the first time on that. Many, many, many, many, many, many. Wish death upon me, Lord. I don't cry no more. Don't look to the sky no more. Have mercy on me. Have mercy on my soul. Don't let my heart turn cold Miniman wanna kill me, dog, I feel like 50 Miniman wanna kill me, dog, I feel like 50 Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, show it It's your birthday Go, go, go, show a deal Go, go, go, show a deal Go, go, go, go How does that make you feel?

14:49No, it feels great, man. It keeps me younger because they still, right now, they are now. Why do you think, this is kind of a funny question to answer, but why do you think from 21 out of Atlanta to techno out of Nigeria, they're inspired by you? Why? Because they have that in their experience. The real side of things is in their experience, too. So like 21 Savage, Pop Smoke, that is the feelings on the record are identifiable. I mean, because like Miniman is like a war chant almost, you know, like in the Go Shorty is fun. It's what you would do in the nightlife as you start to party. Well, someone's birthday close to you would be a reason for us to go with intentions to enjoy ourselves on the highest level.

15:41So, I mean, you're saying something deep, which is like the world changes, the technology changes, but the feelings don't change. And, you know, and how we respond to things. So they understand this is what their connection is to it. It's a new group of guys that are wishing death for now, but they're in a similar scenario. So it makes sense for them to do that. Like now they'll say they're my ops. We wasn't saying that at that point. You know what I mean? But they'll have a new reasoning for why they connect with what they're saying. And does it matter or is it a positive that you transcended out of that?

16:19I mean, your story is known, but here you are doing something completely beyond that community. It's absolutely a positive thing. Look, I've had kids who were absolutely in love with me, and they were in love with the wrong part of me. the part that won't actually continue to be successful, the part that won't continue to, you know, be something that people celebrate. It's so crazy you say that, because we were talking to De Palma, who made Scarface. And he said, of course he made Scarface tough and lovable. You have Pacino there. Right, right. He said, but when he saw all these kids hanging Scarface posters in their dorm rooms, wrong part of Scarface.

17:05He said he was actually aghast. Like, they really missed the point. No, but look, Scarface is the American dream. Not the ending. Yeah, but even the ending is, look, people will say, insert me here. And everything that was going on before that point, you know what I'm saying? I know that Pacino was playing a Cuban character that's coming to America, but to make it in America on your own terms is what the movie represented. and that montage, Push It to the Limit, is, that's the dream. That's the dream. Yeah, respect. So you say wrong part. What's the right part of 50 to fall in love with? Well, the stuff that they see that I've learned, it kind of kept me out of trouble at points.

17:49You know what I'm saying? And I decided the stuff that I was saying in the music in the very beginning, I wasn't, I was crazy. Tell you the truth, Larry. I was absolutely crazy at that point. And then you go, when you look at it and you go, nah. So later, with new information, with more information. You know, like I say, my favorite artists, the younger artists that are out there, I see the street, 21 Savage is one of them. 21 Savage, DaBaby, Lil Durk, NBA Youngboy. I like them because they already been bumped around enough, they're damaged. they're damaged enough by the experience that even if they make it they won't make it if they don't figure out how not to be who they are right now they have to turn into something bigger and better as they go with the new information and new opportunities, new things they come because they really street they really out there you said you were crazy on that album you said even my mama says there's something wrong with my brain they don't rob me, they know I'm down to die from my chain Yeah, I'm not giving it up.

19:00At that point, no. Come on, crazy? So could you be fully crazy if you knew then that you were crazy enough to talk about it on wax? No, to write it, that was factual. What I was saying was, like, she's saying you wouldn't know. I'm not taking that from me because it took too much for me to get it. In that environment, are people less likely to test you if they know that you'll go all the way? Yeah, they'll go around you instead of hitting a brick wall. You know what I mean? Because it's almost, it's one of us, it's me or you at that point. So you avoid that. Any situation that's like that. This is why it's like in the environment that there's people who are aware of each other that don't actually deal with each other.

19:45When they're alike a lot of times, they may not necessarily be friends with each other, but they'll know, yo, I know who that is. Yeah, I know what he do. He know me too. But how do they figure out how not to deal with each other? if they're not in contact? No, they're aware. There's no one that's doing things that don't have a reputation for those things, whether it's positive or negative. Mm-hmm. And when things start to spread and they're aware that you're active or you're doing what you're doing, he called me too. So if you think it's gonna be a one-sided situation, you're wrong. You just gotta make sure you go so hard the very first time that there's not a time for them to come back.

20:30Yeah. You know, facts. Beyond the artists, we checked TikTok. Now, you have an account, but you're not on there a ton, right? Yeah, I'm not on there a lot. But let's see how the youngest community that's making videos is feeling 50, because we dug this up. Go shorty, it's your birthday. We're going to party like it's your birthday. We gonna sip a coffee like it's your birthday And you know we don't give a It's your birthday Many men Wish death upon me Blood in my eye, dawg, and I can't see

21:23All right, you talk about your core fans. They've grown up. They're not at the club, but they're watching your shows. Right. Well, from what I could tell, these ain't those original core fans. Nah, nah. He is 15, 18, 20 years old. Why is this their soundtrack? Well, I think they can still appreciate it and enjoy it. To them, it's old school. Like the kids that's listening to trap music hear 90s R &B music the way we hear Motown. Right. Isn't that weird? Yeah, yeah. That's the way it is, though. Are you at peace with that? Yeah. When Abdul Williams is writing a new edition story for BET, he's making a new version of the five heartbeats.

22:10You know what I mean? Because musically, the way the new generation hears that music, they can still hear it's a hit because of the melodies in it, but they're saying it. I need the one that feels like this. Like the kids just listening to the trap sound is they own that that style of music. You know. And to you to you, that's like that's just a natural evolution. Yeah. And it's cool when you can keep and explore it and you understand it musically so you can enjoy it on a whole level. Yeah. You said politics are dangerous, but I thought we'd run through a couple of things. OK. Including the politics of hip hop, because we had this big trial with Megan Thee Stallion.

22:51A lot of male rappers were doubting her story. We have the headlines. You were one of them. Yeah. Then you came out and said after the trial and conviction of Tory Lanez, you had a better sense of what happened. Yeah. So you were saying, oh, you kind of owe her an apology. Have you talked to her or what would you say to her? No, I haven't. But I did feel like I owed her an apology only because when I saw a portion of an interview that she did with Gail, she was like stuttering and I didn't want to say that she had been sexually involved with Tory. With Tory Lanez, yeah. And I knew that part that she was lying.

23:25So then it made me not sure what happened. And then later in the case I'm going like if she got hurt like that and I'm calling her a liar that's not right. You know what I mean? Like I wouldn't want her to have to go through that. I know what it feels like to be shot. So I don't want to have her to go through that and be hurt in any kind of way. And then I'd be there being insensitive because I'm looking at a portion of an interview. You know what I mean? So who am I to say that to her? So I should apologize just because. That probably wouldn't have came for me in the early stages. That part wasn't there early on.

24:09The apology part, it was not even impossible. Yeah, and some people never do that. So then how do you have a view on it's a hard conversation, but how hip hop deals with that? Because in the law, the society and in hip hop, sometimes it feels like black women's voices are not being treated credibly. Yeah. And I would have probably reached out to her and did it quietly, if anything. Yeah. You know, it was cool. It's not a big deal. I'm not right all the time. No. You know what I mean? Just sometimes. And in the big picture politics, you know, we first met as a throwback was like I was quoting you describing something in the early Trump era.

24:48Everybody's watching the news. And we ended up talking more and more than you were kind enough to come by the show. Are you watching politics right now? Do you think I mean, here's the easiest question. Do you think Joe Biden, who says he's going to run and Trump, who's running? Do you think that there may be too old? Do you think we should have younger politicians? What do you think? Well, I don't know. Joe is a little sleepy sometimes. He felt like he was a little sleepy, like you're getting tired. Maybe it's a little too much for him. You know, and just my opinion. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't know if they're too old.

25:24It's been 20 years already. I'm like, I'm getting old. Well, we're all getting old. They're looking at us like we're all getting old. Yeah. So you think, though, it's a case by case, depends on what you call the energy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I want to show you my mention. So when you came by your first interview, we sat at the table. That was the first time we'd done an interview. And I've got to spend a little more time with you over the years, which I love. This is, again, people say, oh, Ari likes 50. Yeah, I grew up listening to 50, but I don't make the numbers. You know, these are the real numbers all time.

25:57The most watched interview all time is a former Kremlin official coming out of the Putin story. Our second most watched interview of all time is 50 behind you, Bill Gates and Bob De Niro. That's right. Bill Gates and Bob De Niro behind me. What was the one person that was in front of me? Andre Kordarev. Let me think of something to say or something. He was Kremlin, though. I show that to show my viewers who sometimes say, oh, what is this for? And and sometimes people are just asking, but sometimes people don't realize that hip hop is global culture. It is. Of course, people wanted to see what you had to say in that interview, especially if hip hop has been underrepresented.

26:38And what do you think when you look at those numbers? I think that, you know, it's expected because my audience now is grown, like like I was saying. And they are watching your show. Yeah. We're all grown up. Yeah. I just think that's the theme of the day. Right. They're really looking and going, yeah, let me see what he's going to say. And it's on a platform that they're comfortable watching because they're being conscious. They want to know what's going on. And a lot of people don't watch the news. They don't watch to know what's going on. We're trying to change that because we put it out on every platform so people can find it even in Little Lights.

27:12Believe it or not, this show is changing. That's why it's number one. It's tapping into a side of the entertainment side, Ari, where the eyeballs, the person that just decides to look because 50 Cent is there, is going to learn something from the news as soon as I come off it. You see what I'm saying? And they're already tuned in and the ratings are already higher than everybody else's. Did I tell you he was going to be number one the first time I came here? I think so. Did I say that? I think I did. You remember, right? That's why you're number one. You're on the cover of Billboard, I mentioned.

27:44That's the new issue. for all the TV stuff. Does it matter to you to stay up both in what you're doing, which we talked about in TV, and in music? Because they also put out their list. And you know we got to talk lists. Oh, yeah, they put me. Here we go. You are on the top rapper list of all time. You're in the top 20. You are right up ahead of Ice Cube, behind Scarface, Rakim, Snoop, others. Is this list right? No, it's not right. Where should you be? I don't think that you could really put together a list like this without being biased at some points because someone's personal appreciation for these artists of making them place them where they place them.