Prodigy
"It was a good time for Queens. 50 had just dropped. He was really heating up. It was just crazy. He was a friend of a friend, so it felt good to see him be successful like that and get his shine.
"They would play 'In Da Club' and I’d be blasting that s*** in the car. I remember I had a Yukon Denali XL at that time, a white one, and I was living up in Rockland County and I remember being on the Palisades parkway at night and listening to Hot 97. I remember it exactly: First they played Ludacris’ song, then played 50’s song, back-to-back. And then they kept playing 50’s song. They would keep bringing it back.
"I was like, 'Yo, this n**** is out of here with this s***.' That was a good time back then, man. That was definitely a good time in hip-hop. For the South, for New York. I’m trying to think of any other market that was poppin’ at that time. I think it was just like Atlanta and Queens, to tell you the truth."
Freeway
"I'm a big 50 Cent fan, so I definitely supported it when the joint came out. I lived right across the street from a Tower Records, so I remember going in there and grabbing that album.
"There was a lot of excitement around 50. We were always cool. He was on a mixtape tour so we were doing a bunch of shows together. I remember when his album came out and it did all them numbers, I called him like, 'Yo, your joint did a lot of numbers, it's gone be crazy.' He was like, 'Don't worry about it, your joint gon' do the same thing when it drop.' My joint was successful, it ain't do all the numbers that he did, but it was definitely still a classic. So it's all good. I seen him a couple times [after my album dropped] and he told me he loved the album. But I don't think he gave me a call when it dropped, he was still running around doing his thing.
"We ain't never talk about [how 50 would open his shows with Jay-Z's 'I'm about a dollar, what the f*** is 50 Cent.'] Jay was cool with 50 because of the Roc The Mic tour. 50 used to always come to the dressing room, f*** with Jay, they used to always be cool. I remember when 50 first got the Vitaminwater deal, he came in and told Jay like, 'Yeah man, I just did a deal with Vitaminwater. I'm about to get paid off this Vitaminwater.' He would always come in and f*** with Jay, so it was always love."
Tech N9Ne
"First thing I heard [of 50 Cent's] was 'How To Rob.' Then he got shot, so when I heard Get Rich, I could tell that bullet going through his cheek affected him. But he made that work for him just like Kanye made [his car crash] work for 'Through the Wire.' He made it sound good and I guess it gave him a little bit more swag.
"There were a lot of hits on that m***********. Everybody liked 'What Up Gangsta' because I come from a gang bang neighborhood. So he gave love to both sides. [Laughs.] 'Wanksta' was the hood jam. He had so many videos, he did the SWV thing where damn near every song was a single and had a video. It was a beautiful thing that he did.
"I remember being in the club and hearing 'In Da Club.' Everybody was talking about it before I heard it. Then I heard it in the club somewhere—I think I was down South or in Houston—and was like, 'Oh my f****** God.' I remember being in the middle of the dance floor. It was packed because everybody down South dances. I remember thinking he was so smart for saying, 'Go shorty. It's ya birthday,' because everybody can relate.
"I met a couple years ago for the first time. I went up to do a ThisIs50.com interview with Jack Thriller. 50 happened to be there. He came out of his office. I said, 'What's up brother?' He was real calm and saying how he loved the way we're doing business. I was flattered, coming from 50, because he's a businessman. In my eyes he's an MC, businessman, all that. So to hear another businessman to another say, I admire what you're doing, it's a big thing. I love to see what he's built. I think his Get Rich movie was top-notch. I think it's neck and neck with8 Mile. I think he did a wonderful job acting.
"He said to me, 'Tech, I bought Mike Tysons house off of one record, 'In Da Club.' He said, 'One song Tech.' Every since then, everyone keeps saying that to me, 'Tech, you're one song away.' Every time I hear 'In Da Club,' I think of 50 saying to me, 'I bought Mike Tysons house off of one song.'
"50 probably ain't gotta do s*** no more [to make money]. To still see him doing music, it lets you know that that s*** is inside you because he ain't gotta do it, ever again. To see him keep doing it, it lets me know that when I think about retiring, [I can't]. When I hear a dope beat it makes me want to f****** go. I can't stop. That's all I can think of when I see 50 still doing his thing. It must be in his blood, he don't wanna let it go. He ain't gotta do it, especially if he bought Mike Tysons house with one song."
Master P
"I was in New Orleans. I thought it was a great record. It was a street record, it was good, it had all elements, the beats, a top record. I really liked it. It was a good piece of work by 50. The club song ["In Da Club"] was the record for me, the one that got me. I was really mostly doing a lot of movies at the same time. Which was good because when you have good music, it gets you through whatever you're doing. We were definitely playing that album on the set."
