50 Cent’s empire continues to expand courtesy of deals for namesake shoe and clothing lines with Reebok and Ecko, but the Queens rapper is not forgetting that music is the foundation of the phenomenon. On November 4th, his Interscope imprint G-Unit Records will release the self-titled debut album by his G-Unit crew, featuring Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and 50 himself. And 50’s already recording the follow-up to his smash debut Get Rich or Die Tryin’ for release early next year.
“February or early March,” he clarifies. And what about producers? “Dre and Em – absolutely,” 50 says of the pair behind six tracks on Get Rich, this year’s top-selling record by a wide margin.
Eminem and Dr. Dre will also leave their stamp on the G-Unit album, both in terms of production and their savvy business sense. “The standards that they set have enhanced me as an artist,” 50 says. “We came up with different concepts for the record – we had so many ideas. It’s still street, but to be one way is not entertaining.”
Coming before the albums are the Reeboks and the clothing line. “In hip-hop you see more jerseys and athletic wear,” he says. “I like dressing other ways too, so you’ll see some different stuff. Something a little more classy.”
“I’m from the bottom,” 50 explains. “To see me be blessed with the situation that I’m in makes people feel like anything can happen for them.”
