50 Cent has blamed what he sees as a decline in intelligence in Hip Hop on why he’s retreated from rap over the last decade.
In a clip from his recent interview with Earn Your Leisure at Invest Fest that began making the rounds on Tuesday (October 1), the G-Unit boss said he’d need to dumb down his lyrics (word to Lupe Fiasco) in order to fit into the current rap landscape.
“If you listen to the music that’s out right now, I have to tap into my stupid. I have to tap into the stupid side of me to write the right thing when it comes time to write the music,” he said.
“This why I haven’t created as much content as I was creating in the past and I started going towards the film production and development of these projects. Because I can impact things in a bigger way through that.”
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Despite feeling too smart for modern rap, 50 Cent has been teasing a music comeback over the last year.
50 Cent previously weighed in on the current state of Hip Hop in a 2022 interview with Houston’s 97.9 The Box, offering similarly harsh criticism.
“Part of Hip Hop is youth culture. I don’t think you’re supposed to have the hottest verse at 50 years old in Hip Hop,” he said. “I think the 16-year-old kid, the 15-year-old — that guy should be thinking and doing what is keeping the culture thriving, so it grows to a new energy with new vibes, with new music.
“I mean, some of it you look at and it’s easier! The cadences are the same, they’re rapping the same way on the records. If I gotta go make a record right now, I could do that record easy!
“You could actually take your favorite records and write your version of your favorite records with your words on that track, and then go get the next track because they’re using the same melody every time.”
He added: “If you know the words to the song — I don’t care whose record it is — just make your version of it. Change the lines and make your version of it.
“And then it’s gonna be easy to find a track that goes with it because the trap music is using the same tempo, the same cadences, so you gon’ find another track that it goes to perfect. And then you’re like, ‘Yo, this is my new joint!’”
Despite feeling like times have changed, 50 Cent has been teasing a music comeback over the last year.
In an interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood, the “In Da Club” hitmaker hinted that he’s working on a new album with help from longtime collaborator Dr. Dre.
Referring to an Instagram post where he teased “new music,” Fif said: “As soon as I said that, I got a text from [Eminem] that he had already spoke to Dre, and that Dre is in there and he got some crazy stuff for me to go hear.
“This is my process: I’ll go make something, what I can find, the best music that I can put my hands on. And when I feel real good about it, I bring it to put pressure on Dre to offer me something. ‘Cause he’ll have something… He’s always had something.”
