50 Cent has reflected on his partnership with Eminem and Dr. Dre on the 20th anniversary of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, saying he feels “blessed” to have worked with such iconic talents.
As his blockbuster debut celebrated its major milestone on Monday (February 6), the G-Unit boss opted against hogging the limelight and instead praised his longtime collaborators, referring to them as “the 3 headed monster.”
“When you have a team like this it’s hard to lose, I’m so blessed to have worked with the best ever,” 50 wrote on Instagram. “You can re-write a book, you can re-write a song but you can’t re-write history. The 3 headed monster EM, DRE and 50cent. Boom.”
50’s post was accompanied by a throwback video of himself, Eminem and Dr. Dre being interviewed by MTV News on the set of his “In Da Club” music video shoot back in 2003.
“50’s album, in my opinion, is going to compete with all the classic Hip Hop records that have come out over the last 10 years — Illmatic, The Chronic, Ready to Die, The Marshall Mathers LP — it’s right up there,” Dre said in the clip. “And that’s no bullshit … It’s hot!”
The Aftermath founder also revealed that he and 50 Cent recorded seven songs together in their first five days working together in the studio, prompting Eminem to joke about the buzzing Queens, New York rapper breaking his record.
“50 beat my record from the first time I was in the studio with Dre ’cause I did three songs in one day, and he did seven songs in like five days,” he said.
50 humbly replied: “But one of his first songs was hot. ‘My name is!’ And then look at the sales, so don’t put that kind of pressure on me.
“It’s no pressure!” Slim Shady responded in kind. “I wish my first album was this hot. That’s all I can say. I’m not trying to sell the album; the album’s gonna sell itself.”
Released on February 6, 2003, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ solidified 50 Cent as a global superstar while helping to reinstate gangsta rap’s mainstream dominance.
Powered by hits like “In Da Club,” “21 Questions” and “P.I.M.P.,” the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after selling 872,000 copies in its first week and would go on to be the best-selling album of 2003.
It has since been certified 9x platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and with just another million sales, would become 50’s first album — and just the 12th LP in Hip Hop history — to achieve elusive diamond status.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ had Eminem and Dr. Dre’s fingerprints all over it. Not only was it released through Shady Records and Aftermath — in conjunction with Interscope and 50’s own G-Unit Records — but Dre produced several tracks including “In Da Club,” “If I Can’t” and “Back Down,” while Em appeared on “Patiently Waiting” and “Don’t Push Me” while also contributing production.
The triumvirate has remained loyal friends ever since. Last year, N.O.R.E. revealed that Eminem told JAY-Z — who helped organize the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show — that he would only participate in the star-studded performance if 50 Cent was involved.
“I said to JAY-Z, I have to ask this straight up: ‘Who is gonna perform at the NFL?’” N.O.R.E. said during Snoop Dogg’s Drink Champs episode. “And he said to me, ‘The white guy called for 50 Cent.’
“I said, ‘Who is the white guy? Jimmy Iovine?’ And he said, ‘No, Eminem called directly for 50 and he said I can’t do it if I can’t bring 50 with me.’ That’s spiritual.”
“@eminem is the man,” 50 later wrote on Instagram after their Super Bowl halftime show won three awards at the 2022 Primetime Creative Arts Emmys. “He wouldn’t do the show with out me that’s my boy !”
50 Cent — who is less of a music star and more of a TV mogul these days — is looking to return the favor by producing an 8 Mile TV series to help further Eminem’s already bulletproof legacy.
“I’m gonna bring 8 Mile to television,” Fif announced in an interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood in January. “We in motion. It’s gonna be big … I think it should be there for [Eminem’s] legacy because it’s important to me that they understand it.”
