January 06, 2006 @ 11:30 am

50 Cent - Introducing Curtis Jackson

Clay Cane

50 Cent is arguably the most controversial and known figure in hip hop today. Uninhibited lyrics and consistent rivalry with other artists have kept his hip hop saga in the limelight since 2003. He shattered records with his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, selling 12 million copies worldwide. In 50’s quadruple platinum sophomore effort, The Massacre, he continued his journey in the record books by becoming the first artist to have four songs in the top ten of Billboard's Hot 100 since The Beatles. Recently, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson starred in the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’, directed by six-time Oscar® nominee Jim Sheridan, and written by two-time Emmy winner Terence Winter. With controversy surrounding the film’s “violent” advertisement, he is remaining cool and confident, like he has done this before. Actually, he has done this before, just that this time it is on the silver screen. Vibe.com: Where do you draw the line between hip hop being violent and hip hop being art? 50 Cent: You got people who are trying to capture what actually goes on in their environment. So, if the environment is violent they write about these things. People say they [hip hop artists] repeat things, but the artists don’t feel like they repeat things. They are trying to capture the perfect record about what goes on in their environment - and you know they [record companies] pick what to promote as far as what's actually going on in these environments. If we could just take the records of who goes in the hospital for one week in the neighborhood, you'll find far more victim of violent crimes, whether it’s stab wounds or gun shot wounds -- it goes on in their environments and it’s what they write about. How was it for you to step back into those moments with your mother’s murder, and being shot? 50: It was therapeutic - being in some of those spaces over and over again. Some people think because you’re making a film based on your life story that you’re not actually acting, but I still gotta deliver the dialogue like everybody else and make my physical respond to what they're saying to match what’s going on. What was the worst moment for you to go through during filming? right 50: One of the worst points for me was the actual operating scene. We spent eight hours that day shooting that scene and I had prosthetics and make-up on so I couldn’t move. I’m sitting on the table looking up at the light fixtures you see in an operating room. I got actors over me delivering dialogue, doing a great job acting like surgeons, and when they say cut everybody's laughing doing what they doing, but I cant move off the table for the time period. I’m there and its like -- I’ve been in that position before. Do you live with fear? 50: Not much – I’ve already made a decision on how I’m gonna live my life. Are you going to let your son see the film? 50: Yeah, he’s nine and I’m going to have him see it with me so I can explain it. Are you a strict parent? 50: He's spoiled and I don’t think there are enough spoiled black kids (laughs). Do you have a girlfriend? 50: No, I don’t have girlfriend right now. I’m very single. What are you looking for in a woman? 50: Just someone with their own direction -- I think the most attractive thing about a woman is her confidence. What do you think of Samuel L. Jackson not wanting to work with you on the film? 50: I think Samuel L. Jackson's statement saying he didn’t want to work with a rapper meant he didn’t want to work under a rapper on a rapper's first film. Sometimes people become so artistic they forget they are in the entertainment business. You have to be aware some people feel that way. You have people that go to school for acting and they don’t receive the same opportunities because they don’t generate the interests of the general public. It's a better business decision to make a film like this with 50 Cent because worldwide I generate the interest of people everywhere. Could you see yourself doing a completely different role and being a hardcore actor? 50: Yeah, I would commit to another project if I came across a screenplay that was exciting. Were there any surreal moments when filming? 50: Yeah, when I’m leaving the house toward the end of the film and my grandparents are asking what’s going on with me. My grandmother really used to say that to me. She would hear things about me in the streets and not see that in me at home. So, I’ve always had to be two people, as far as being my grandmother’s baby in the house and then be aggressive enough to get by in the streets. What’s your worst nightmare? 50: My worst nightmare is to be right back where I started. I think a lot of people who find success on a music level, they get to this level and their lifestyle becomes fabulous and when the music starts to slow down they continue to be fabulous, and to the point that it reaches so low they can’t contain that lifestyle that they just fall flat on their face. In the history of entertainment we build entertainers in order to destroy them for the sake of entertainment. Is the whole business in Hollywood different than the hood? 50: No, my work ethic hasn’t changed and you see that in the film. Bottom line is you’re selling something different. If you can maintain the quality of it, I think generally the market place will accept it and it will be sold. What do you hope viewers get from the film? 50: Outside of the movie, things they see me do in business can allow two things to happen - anyone from the environment I’m from will either be inspired by the situation, or they will envy the situation. That’s their options. Read more vibe.com online exclusives.

Article tags: 50 Cent, Get Rich Or Die Tryin, The Massacre, G-Unit 

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http://www.vibe.com/news/online_exclusives/2006/01/50_cent_introducing_curtis_jackson/

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