The new issue of Forbes has a business oriented article on 50 Cent with a sidebar on Chris Lighty plus a popup slideshow linked in the online article that gives a brief overview of 50 Cent’s main income streams. You may need to register for free but it’s worth the brief time involved.
The article on 50 Cent indicates a shift in media interest from how many times he got shot (though that’s mentioned in passing) to focusing on his customized Chevy Suburban that is described as "both a marketing prop and a necessary defense":
A nondescript black SUV … tricked out with 5 tons of steel armor, a bombproof undercarriage, bulletproof windows and run-flat tires that keep rolling even after getting shot up by an Uzi. Jackson … bought the $200,000 monster last year, straight off the assembly line on its way to Iraq. He leaves the driving to a professional trained in the kind of evasive maneuvers more commonly deployed in war zones.
Now, that’s executive security. By the way, I talked to some folks that interviewed 50 Cent in San Francisco a couple of years back and they said 50 had a whole hotel floor for the interviews at which only one reporter was allowed in at a time.
The article also clarifies why everyone can stop judging 50 by artistic standards:
I never got into it for the music. I got into it for the business.
And you’re not alone, Mr. Cent.
In an odd twist, the interviewer asked 50 what were the chances he’d go bankrupt, adding a list of a few famous musicians from other genres to justify the question. 50 dismissed it as well he should. Considering that every field of business and class of U.S. citizen has plenty of examples of bankruptcy, it’s a ridiculous question unless there’s some evidence to indicate that 50 is having financial problems. That’s one thing I’ve never seen suggested anywhere.
The article also reminds us that 50 isn’t a party animal, though he plays one in performance, for example:
Onstage, he guzzles from a Hennessy bottle. His fans don’t know it holds only iced tea.
Correction, if the fans really don’t know and various bloggers who read me but are oh so much more famous run with this (whether or not they get it from me), quite a few of his fans will know.
Apparently 50 Cent claims that, after signing his "$1 million, five-album contract", he then "spent his first $300,000 registering Fifty Cent and G-Unit trademarks."
Though the phrasing makes this sound a little odd, since I don’t believe he literally spent his first $300 k on registrations, on the other hand, I can believe that between lawyers and registrations fees he could have said make it so and that’s where it led. Even if he made that up, which I’m not claiming, it says a lot about 50 Cent’s values, especially when so many fools would be bragging about buying $300 k worth of Cristal.
One of 50′s other smart business moves was hiring Chris Lighty. Now, I may critize some of Lighty’s blogged statements, but he pulls some interesting, insightful moves, for example:
Lighty also courted endorsement offers, though he encouraged Fifty to reject one from Bowflex Fitness, an exercise equipment brand, even though it would have paid the rapper $13 per unit sold. Lighty, mindful of Sean "Diddy" Combs’ embarrassing infomercial for an acne remedy, persuaded his boss that the product might compromise Fifty’s image.
Note that everything I’ve mentioned so far represents long term thinking by 50 Cent, from developing real security rather than rolling with a crew for pretend security to registering his intellectual property to hiring Chris Lighty and turning down Bowflex on Lighty’s advice. I’ve never heard of anyone in hip hop prioritizing business with an eye to the future as has 50 Cent. While it’s true that earlier rappers and business people did not have the highly developed range of options available to 50, it’s not like any others of his generation who got signed at that level have worked the system the way he has.
The article details other more well-known business dealings and also offers a sidebar on Chris Lighty, both of which include single lines in the final paragraphs mentioning that 50 is negotiating with Apple to create a branded line of low-cost computers. If that comes off, that’s a whole new level of the game for hip hop.
what’s funnier is that 50 is on the subscriber cover. i believe angelina jolie is on the newsstand version of that same issue.
Thanks, Tiffany, I’d never have known that otherwise. I can understand why they put AJ on the newsstand issue since that will boost sales but I wonder why they went with 50 on the subscriber cover.