50 Cent Mixtapes: A Vehicle To Fame
Since the 1970’s, mixtapes have been a fundamental aspect of gaining recognition in the hip hop world. Since the advancement of technology and the ability to burn CD’s, though, not all rappers are utilizing them as they used to. Regardless, some artists still see their importance, thus why there are so many 50 Cent mixtapes available for sale and for download.
50 Cent’s debut mainstream album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, was released in 2003 and included hit singles such as “In da Club” and “P.I.M.P.” That same year, he was granted an imprint label, G-Unit Records. He released The Massacre two years later which went multi-platinum internationally. His next two albums, Curtis and Before I Self Destruct, both debuted in the top five of the charts. Needless to say, 50 Cent is a renowned hip hop artist.
Despite his hit albums and singles, there are a number of 50 Cent mixtapes which date back to the origin of his career and are various in subject matter and reasoning for recording. His first was 50 Cent is the Future, recorded in 2002, which he travelled to Canada to record. It consists of revisited material by Jay Z and Raphael Saadiq. This was named #1 for best of all time in the XXL Top 20 Mixtapes.
The second official 50 Cent Mixtape was No Mercy, No Fear and included his hit single, “Wanksta,” which became a chart-topping hit after the fact. This is just the tip of the iceberg when considering all of 50 Cent’s achievements in terms of tapes. The rapper became known for his playlists before he was known for his albums and singles, which is the true meaning of the art.
50 Cent mixtapes are modern examples of the meaning of the tapes in the ’70’s. He uses them to gain popularity in their own right, not to supplement his already golden reputation for his hip hop songs. He even has singles and remixes that are immensely popular and which originated on these tapes.