...Talks Dre, Diddy, And Before I Self Destruct
Complex: Is there tension between you and Dre?
50 Cent: There’s no tension. There will never be a beef between 50 Cent and Dre. And it’s not based on 50 and Dre’s relationship, it’s based on Eminem and Dre’s relationship. My relationship with Em is what Em’s relationship is to Dre. If I was to say something disrespectful to Dre, it would effect Em and I value that relationship too much. So I won’t say anything, I’ll never say anything negative about Dre.
Complex: Does it bother you that it can take Dre so long to mix your records?
50 Cent: Oh no, that’s just him as a producer. He takes his time. He loses interest in shit. I don’t care how great you are. He’s great, but he loses interest in himself at points. So the making of the record at this point is motivation. He’ll tell you himself that that’s what he feels.
Complex: How do you feel about him working with Game?
50 Cent: I don’t care. It’s better that you shut up sometimes than for you to actually express your judgments when you’re close to home.
Complex: Shifting gears, in your VH1 Behind The Music episode, there was a part that talked about Diddy taking a meeting with you, and him getting shook because you brought a gun to the office…
50 Cent: This is what happened. Jennifer Lopez told Puffy that I was a great writer because Corey Rooney signed me to Columbia Records. Jennifer had been exposed to my material, so she told Puff she thinks I’m somebody he should work with. I came down to write and I was in there writing a couple of joints and Puff left the actual room. There was rustling and rambling at the door and shit like that. I jumped up—when you get hurt as bad as I got hurt, either your fear consumes you or you become insensitive. So I jumped up and figured “as you come through the door, I’ll shoot your ass down right there in the door.” The paranoia heightens your senses. You start to see every little detail, every little thing. You don’t want to miss anything and have it turn out there’s someone shooting you again. When I heard the rambling outside, I jumped up, I had a Mac-10 on me. Pulled the joint out and Puff came in and looked, said, “Oh shit, I can’t do this.”As a matter fact, it was Shyne and Wolf, wrestling outside. Puff was going through that actual case when he called me in to write and I’m in his office with a Mac-10. He was like, “I can’t do that.” After the fact, I looked at it and was like, That’s a legitimate call.
Complex: Getting back to Jay-Z, who ended up #1 on the list. Much has been made of his recent comment that “no one is afraid of 50 Cent.” Regardless, it seems like the general public agrees that Kanye wouldn’t have pulled that stunt if you were on stage instead of Taylor Swift…
50 Cent: He wouldn’t. You can’t convince the public, you can’t convince Kanye to say he would’ve did that. If I was there and he did that to me we would have had an altercation. Right there. It’s clear. He [Kanye] would have avoided that, just being intelligent. The interviewer who asked [Jay-Z] about the Kanye situation made him feel like a punk. His presentation is really simple and you can’t have both. You can’t be gangster Jay from Marcy and be the good guy Jay-Z on Oprah. You just can’t. They don’t let you in. That’s Mr. Knowles, he just got that pass. There ain’t any tickets to an inauguration ball with niggas. If you’re from the hood, you have that element or that aura around you, there’s no tickets for you. It’s “safe” people there. This is why those things are happening. This is why he has to convince the person that he’s talking to he’s not afraid of anyone.
Complex: Were you surprised that Fat Joe only sold that many his first week?
50 Cent: Well, I have 8,000 friends. So that’s extremely low.
Complex: It’s very low…
50 Cent: Watch this. Want a prediction from me? ...
Complex: Is there tension between you and Dre?
50 Cent: There’s no tension. There will never be a beef between 50 Cent and Dre. And it’s not based on 50 and Dre’s relationship, it’s based on Eminem and Dre’s relationship. My relationship with Em is what Em’s relationship is to Dre. If I was to say something disrespectful to Dre, it would effect Em and I value that relationship too much. So I won’t say anything, I’ll never say anything negative about Dre.
Complex: Does it bother you that it can take Dre so long to mix your records?
50 Cent: Oh no, that’s just him as a producer. He takes his time. He loses interest in shit. I don’t care how great you are. He’s great, but he loses interest in himself at points. So the making of the record at this point is motivation. He’ll tell you himself that that’s what he feels.
Complex: How do you feel about him working with Game?
50 Cent: I don’t care. It’s better that you shut up sometimes than for you to actually express your judgments when you’re close to home.
Complex: Shifting gears, in your VH1 Behind The Music episode, there was a part that talked about Diddy taking a meeting with you, and him getting shook because you brought a gun to the office…
50 Cent: This is what happened. Jennifer Lopez told Puffy that I was a great writer because Corey Rooney signed me to Columbia Records. Jennifer had been exposed to my material, so she told Puff she thinks I’m somebody he should work with. I came down to write and I was in there writing a couple of joints and Puff left the actual room. There was rustling and rambling at the door and shit like that. I jumped up—when you get hurt as bad as I got hurt, either your fear consumes you or you become insensitive. So I jumped up and figured “as you come through the door, I’ll shoot your ass down right there in the door.” The paranoia heightens your senses. You start to see every little detail, every little thing. You don’t want to miss anything and have it turn out there’s someone shooting you again. When I heard the rambling outside, I jumped up, I had a Mac-10 on me. Pulled the joint out and Puff came in and looked, said, “Oh shit, I can’t do this.”As a matter fact, it was Shyne and Wolf, wrestling outside. Puff was going through that actual case when he called me in to write and I’m in his office with a Mac-10. He was like, “I can’t do that.” After the fact, I looked at it and was like, That’s a legitimate call.
Complex: Getting back to Jay-Z, who ended up #1 on the list. Much has been made of his recent comment that “no one is afraid of 50 Cent.” Regardless, it seems like the general public agrees that Kanye wouldn’t have pulled that stunt if you were on stage instead of Taylor Swift…
50 Cent: He wouldn’t. You can’t convince the public, you can’t convince Kanye to say he would’ve did that. If I was there and he did that to me we would have had an altercation. Right there. It’s clear. He [Kanye] would have avoided that, just being intelligent. The interviewer who asked [Jay-Z] about the Kanye situation made him feel like a punk. His presentation is really simple and you can’t have both. You can’t be gangster Jay from Marcy and be the good guy Jay-Z on Oprah. You just can’t. They don’t let you in. That’s Mr. Knowles, he just got that pass. There ain’t any tickets to an inauguration ball with niggas. If you’re from the hood, you have that element or that aura around you, there’s no tickets for you. It’s “safe” people there. This is why those things are happening. This is why he has to convince the person that he’s talking to he’s not afraid of anyone.
Complex: Were you surprised that Fat Joe only sold that many his first week?
50 Cent: Well, I have 8,000 friends. So that’s extremely low.
Complex: It’s very low…
50 Cent: Watch this. Want a prediction from me? ...