All About Laughs
The music industry is not a fair nor easy one. It’s a game where friends constantly become enemies, enemies ally with other enemies, and political antics run rampant. Along with the other wilds of the industry, beef between artists also arise for various reasons. However, platforms like Verzuz have been on the rise as of late thanks to the global pandemic, have been instrumental in helping to quell some of these old beefs, and to mend some old wounds.
Brandy vs. Monica, Sean Garrett vs. The Dream, and Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy are some examples of those battles that have seen past contenders set aside their differences to compete against one another in a more-so friendly manner. However, there’s one rapper that continuously finds his name in conversations on being a potential contender, and each time, he expresses how uninterested he is.
50 Cent is probably at the top of the list, if not definitely near it, of rappers that have accumulated various beefs within his career, with some still being active. Not only are his antics on social media and in real life entertaining to the masses, but his catalog is also filled with a bevy of chart-topping hits.
Even though he’s not interested in hopping into the Verzuz ring, he recently expressed which contenders should face off in a battle together.”I think because of the momentum, the best thing would be Lil Wayne vs. Drake,” 50 stated in an Instagram Live conversation to promote his “Branson Cognac” liquor. “Because it’s two styles, two different styles in the same period so it will be entertaining enough to watch both of them.”
The “I Get Money” rapper was once involved in a head to head battle of sorts with rapper Kanye West when both of their albums were scheduled to release on September 11, 2007. Both were two of the most successful rappers and also some of the biggest on the planet and the friendly competition was the talk of the town. Ultimately, it a West who would come out “Stronger” and best Fit in the sales competition, selling 960K units the first week of his Graduation album to Fif’s 690K—his then-worst showing to date for his album Curtis.
Fif has also once recalled a moment where two other hip-hop heavyweights had a recent showdown of sales, although not with the same publicized lead-up for their album rollouts. Was and Jay-Z, who also had beef of their own from the late 90’s to the early 2000s until Nas’ “Ether” dropped and seemed to end the battle. The two rappers have since squashed their beef and have even collaborated on music.
The Queens rapper’s Nasir album was part of Kanye West’s five-album rollout of his G.O.O.D. Music artists in 2018, which had been announced months before the release. Although Nas isn’t West’s artist, the album was produced entirely by him. What wasn’t announced, was the surprise joint album from The Carters (Beyonce and Jay-Z), Everything is Love, almost simultaneously. Many were led to believe that their old rivalry had been dredged up.
😂😂😂 @50cent on Jay and Nas dropping albums at the same time 😂😂 @shade45 #GetTheStrap #4thofjuly weekend mix! #WhoolywoodShuffle 😂😂🔊🔊🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍾🍾🍾🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/tTNnXilxtH
— WHOOARMY LIVE (@DJWhooKid) June 30, 2018
However, sources close to Nas let it be known that he is by no means upset by the release of their album, and that it would not take away from the significance of his album. Neither Jay nor Beyonce explained their reasoning for the album’s release date nor have they addressed anything pertaining to Nas, but 50 had some thoughts directed towards the couple. “That was f—d up what they did to Nas,” 50 tells DJ Whoo Kid in an interview. “That’s f—d up. I know what you did to Nas, Jay… They came out on the same weekend. This n—a still slapping him without anybody noticing what’s going on.”
