"Pop that nigga, I don't care if he know me," is a line from one of the songs off 50 Cent's second album, The Massacre. While I do not condone the use of the word "Nigga," I must say that 50 Cent is by far the best marketing strategist in the music industry today.

Controversy sells, not like sex, but it sells, point blank. This is where 50 Cent's marketing genius comes into play. He was able to come from a nobody to the most talked about rapper in the world. How did he accomplish this? Well, let's start from the beginning.

Curtis Jackson, originally AKA Ferrari, changed his name to the dead, notorious Brooklyn stick-up kid's name, Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin, (Johnson 108) and created a buzz within the hip hop industry by rapping about robbing other rappers and R&B singers in his song "How to Rob." Could you imagine someone talking about robbing you? This would create panic and vulnerability within your sense of security. Now, multiply that feeling to the tenth power and you will begin to understand the feelings these artists felt when he named them.

Panic and pandemonium spread like wild fire, creating a ripe atmosphere for controversy. Would he rob me? That was the question on every artist's mind. Would he really rob them was the question on the fans' minds. Everyone wanted to know who this guy was. Even Jay-Z, who at the time was a popular rapper, had to respond with, "I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cent?" 50 Cent had succeeded in getting everyone's attention.

Next, his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' exploded on the scene, calling out popular rapper Ja-Rule, drug lord Preme, disrespecting his label, and some prolific producers. This action generated an instantaneous platinum record, which went on to go 11 times platinum (Johnson 112) and pushed him into overnight stardom.

After putting out his other group members' albums, he emerged again by standing strong with his second album, The Massacre. "Piggy Bank," the single off of this album, started the controversy all over again. "Such cold calculation and manipulation has become 50's time-tested approach to business; given his surprise ‘disses' of Fat Joe and Jadakiss, some argue that controversy is part of the plan, too" (Johnson 108), my sentiments exactly.

50 Cent seems to be starting all these ‘beefs' strategically, right before audiences around him. It also looks like 50 Cent has done his homework because he seems to be borrowing some principles from Dr Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. [He] seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored" (Selzer 126).

Take, for example, when he disrespects Jadakiss, he is effectively demanding the attention of not only Jadakiss, but Jadakiss's fans as well. In doing this he forces the other artist's fan base to buy his album to find out what is the problem. He knows the hip hop audience likes the drama, so he feeds them.

Was this a planned intention that 50 Cent is reaping? Well, according to one of his rivals, a Brooklyn OG (Original Gangster), Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond, he seemed to believe so, "I believe he always had ulterior motives; he needed to keep the upper hand, that's how he thinks. He's a very conniving, calculating dude. He calls it playing chess..."

My point is, with record sales soaring and 50's ever growing fan base, it seems that he has steadily accomplished his goal of controversy sells. Who in their right mind would tackle known drug lords, take the name of a known stick-up kid, make a song about robbing all the hip hop stars, disrespecting other recording label's producers, and end up disrespecting and severing ties with his label mate and coworker The Game (who I must add is known to be an LA Blood)? Sounds like a preconceived plan to me, but one aimed at starting controversy.

He is effectively marketing the Black gangster of the urban environment, the one who takes on everyone to prove he is the toughest. He is actually bottling that image and selling it to the hip hop audience by drawing them into the melee when he attacks their favorite artist. Indeed, others have noticed 50 Cent's genius, too. Jimmy Lovine, a producer of 50 Cent's music recently called 50 Cent "one of the best marketing people ... since Madonna." (Johnson 108).

Of course some might disagree and argue that Jay-Z is the best because he has been in the game a long time and made plenty of money, plus his clothing line grossed $80 million the first year, as apposed to 50 Cent's $55 million (Johnson 107). But, I can easily counter that argument with the fact that Jay-Z never had industry success with as many artists as 50 Cent did with G-Unit. Take, for example, within G-Unit, which is 50 Cent's clique, Banks went double platinum, Buck went nearly double platinum, and The Game went quadruple platinum (Johnson 112). Jay-Z's crew never did as well.

When one sees 50 Cent, at first glance, one will see a Black man then, when they investigate his background, they will think, ‘oh, he's that Black thug who likes to start trouble.' On the contrary, from the outset, this so-called trouble-maker image was a façade. This façade of a tough guy was pure marketing genius thrown out there to boost his record sales by starting controversy and laughing all the way to his "Piggy Bank."

Works Cited

50 Cent. "My Toy Soldier" The Massacre. Aftermath, 2005.

Johnson, G. (2005, October/November) "Business, Never Personal." King. 105-112.

Selzer, Jack. Conversations: Reading for Writing, Special Edition for the Pennsylvania State University. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2004.

About the Author

Mr. Andre Lewis is a published author and poet. His first book, ‘Pay to Play', an urban novel, was published by Around the Way Books in January of 2005. His second title, ‘The Plexus Agenda' (Around the Way Books, November 2007), is an espionage novel which makes an exploration into race relations. You may read more about his books and poems at the publisher's website: http://www.aroundthewaybooks.com