Robert Greene on 50 Cent & The 50th Law [of Power]

Adisa Banjoko recently spoke with Robert Greene on hip hop's response to his book, The 48 Laws of Power:

"I talked to people like Busta Rhymes, or people who worked with Jay-Z or 50 himself. I feel like some of these managers like [50 Cent's manager] Chris Lighty got the book."

"Timing wise, I got kinda lucky. Because I was at a point were rappers were venturing hardcore into business. I think the book appeared at that moment and it struck a cord. Because if you've ever been in the music business before, its just brutal. Machiavellian to the 10th degree."

"So the book allowed some of these managers to deal with the intense game playing that was going on. I think through them, it filtered down to the artists."

They also discussed Greene's upcoming coauthored book with 50 Cent, The 50th Law, due next spring:

"It's kind of an urban version of The 48 Laws...I spent about a year following him around...His ideas and my ideas converged. As I looked at his life and watched him in action I sat down and we came up with these laws of hustling..."

"Each law, is kinda illustrated with stories like my other books. The stories are basically about him. His days as a hustler on the streets - dealing drugs mostly. Then there are stories about him in the music and business world. But he brings the same hustler mentality from when he was dealing drugs to how he now operates."

"I'm showing the connection of how this mentality is very appropriate to 21st Century America. It's a very powerful way of being. There is a lot to learn from that in a business sense, or a power sense or just a being sense."

In a separate piece, Adisa Banjoko and Robert Greene discuss Barack Obama.