ABCDE Arts&Style sunday, december 19, 2010 E AX FN FS LF PW DC BD PG AA FD HO MN MS SM


BOOKS How 50 Cent scored a half-billion


In “The Big Payback: TheHistory of the Business ofHip-Hop,” authorDan Charnas traces howrap grewfromits obscure roots in the ghettos of 1970sNewYork to its culmination as theworld’s predominant youth pop culture and amultibillion-dollar industry. The event that epitomized just howfar hip-hop had comewas the headline-grabbing partnership between the rapper 50 Cent and the upstart beverage companyGlaceau, themaker of Vitaminwater. Itmay well have been the biggest deal in hip-hop history, propelling 50 Cent’s personal networth toward a half-billion dollars. In this excerpt, Charnas outlines howit happened.


BY DAN CHARNAS Bythesummerof2003,50Cent’sdebut


album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” had sold more than 5 million copies, and he was easily onhisway to becoming amultimil- lionaire on these sales alone. But the rapper fromQueens, who was born Cur- tis Jackson and had begun his career on the reputationof being shotnine times (a bullet was still lodged in his tongue), wasn’t content to remain a recording artist. And his young manager, Chris Lighty, himself a Bronx street kid turned businessman, was well-positioned to ex- ploit 50’s stardom by creating multiple income streams. Lighty had come out of theDef Jamfold andmanaged such stars asMissy Elliott and LL Cool J. With Lighty, 50 Cent created the “G-


Unit”brand, including a recordcompany, a clothing company and a sneaker deal with Reebok’s RBK line. The G-Unit Clothing Company was a joint-venture deal, with hip-hop-influenced designer Marc Ecko fronting themoney, handling themanufacturing and distribution, and splitting the profits fifty-fiftywith 50. At his Violatormanagement company


(named after a rough crew that Lighty ran with as a kid), Lighty helped pioneer the use of 900 numbers for his artists. Over a decade later, he negotiated a different kind of phone deal: 50 Cent cellular ringtones to be sold for up to $2.99 per download. Lighty inked other agreements, too: a video game and a biopic with MTV Films and Paramount Pictures. When the agency that repre-


hip-hop continued on E5


Christmas at the movies: Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff; Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play


grieving parents. Pages E2-3


BORIS GRDANOSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS


THIRSTFORSUCCESS:Not content with album sales alone, the rapper branched out into Vitaminwater, backing the Formula 50 flavor.


ALSOINSIDE


Ask Amy, E14 Carolyn Hax, E14 Celebrations, E13 Cul de Sac, E14 Horoscope, E14 Lively Arts Guide, E4 Movie Guide, E11 On Love, E12


ILLUSTRATION BY KIM MAXWELL VU/THE WASHINGTON POST


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