Branding In Hip-Hop

50 Cent - Realest Killas

I’ma nightmare, you see me in ya dream/ Wake up, and turn on ya t.v. and see my ass again/ You cowardly hearted, you couldn’t make it on ya own/ fuck The Source, I’m on the cover of Rolling Stone

In 2002, The Source wrote an editorial about Eminem, 50 Cent’s mentor.  In it, they accused Eminem of being “Vanilla Ice” and a “product of the machine” that discredits black and latino artists.  They also arguably failed to give Eminem an accurate review of his two highly praised albums, The Eminem Show and The Marshall Mathers LP.  The fued continued to go back and forth, even affecting Eminem’s artists, such as 50 Cent.  Well, in 2003, 50 Cent became a worldwide sensation and the top selling artist of that year.  But because of his affiliation with Eminem, he too did not get the review most felt he deserved with his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin”, which many consider a classic rap album.  But whatever, because 50 Cent ended up being on the cover of Rolling Stone that year, a magazine far more credible and popular in comparison to The Source.  

Essentially, The Source went through quite a bit of negative press.  After the situation with Eminem, advertisers such as Interscope, Def Jam, Tommy Boy, Virgin, Motown and Universal pulled advertising from The Source and the magazine has struggled to recover since.  Essentially, when it comes to publications, you need make sure you have responsibility, credibility, and respect for all cultures and genres of music.  Maybe that’s why 50 Cent was completely fine with not being on The Source and getting Rolling Stone instead.