Is this rap’s logical conclusion?
An essay by Louis Frederic Mendel

Life on the street has changed during the 20th century. The continuous poverty, anger and violence has affected every living soul on the street, and produced rap music – a new musical genre which has revolutionized the street-life. The dreadful street-life of a criminal can be heard through thousands of rhyming rap songs, and the rules are simple; the rappers which have the most experience with violence, drugs and poverty are getting the most respect from the audience. Rap music is a product of the poverty and violence, which people experience on the street, and many rappers are striving to achieve respect, money and fame through a rap music career. In the article “Is this rap’s logical conclusion” from 2003, the journalist presents the life story of 50 cent, a rapper who’s achieved all three elements: respect, money and fame. In the article, we are confronted with his horrible circumstances as a child, in which he was forced to live the life of a drug dealer. We hear the stories of his being shot, of selling drugs before he was a teenager, and of how he wrote a platinum hit-song in just under an hour. Throughout the article, the journalist is present in the text as he provides subjective observations. He conveys his own personal view of 50 cent’s life, and tells us how “he can flip the switch between being a though guy to a soft-spoken choirboy” (p. 3 l. 34-35). This is interesting for the reader because it sounds like the journalist is sitting in the presence of 50 cent, while making observations. The journalist is therefor bringing the readers into the conversation. In the article, the journalist chooses to show the readers how 50 cent has had a rough childhood. He speaks about how 50 cent’s mother was killed, how he used to sell drugs and earn 5000 dollars a day when he was only 18 years old, and how he existed as a ghetto celebrity. The journalist thoroughly describes that the image of 50 cent as a boy who was so deep into the ghetto environment, that he was predetermined for a future, which included death or prison. And despite this, he became a famous and successful musician and rapper. The journalist also presents how 50 cent’s musical career was structured. He shows the readers how a non-famous 50 cent, in 1999 in his song “How to Rob”, dissed the famous rapper, Jay Z. This made Jay Z respond to 50 cent with a sentence “I’m about a dollar/What the fuck is 50 cent?” (p. 5 l. 8-10). The journalist therefor shows his readers that 50 cent was actually attracting attention from the topmost rappers back when he was a nobody, and before his career started properly. It is obvious that the journalist is showing us where 50 cent gets his material and respect from: his earlier street-life, and also portraying a 50 cent who is gets professional attention from the very top of the music business. The journalist thereby makes readers respect 50 immediately. Readers for the article also discover 50 cent’s way of speaking. The journalist has not corrected his slang and grammar, but instead he presents us with the raw version of 50 cent’s way of talking. We see this when 50 cent speaks of the gunman who shot him “The adrenaline is pumping. You movin’ and tryin’ to get out of the way. I was bouncing around the back seat. We got a block or so. We had to pull over to get rid of the tote [gun]. (p. 5 l. 27-29). Words like “moving” and “trying” is presented to readers exactly as 50 cent pronounces them. Additionally, slang words such as ‘tote’ have not been corrected, but instead, the journalist chooses to explain what a “tote” means. This makes the readers feel like they are actually speaking with the famous 50 cent, because you hear of his street life through unfamiliar slang words. This illustrates how the journalist is trying to give the readers his own personal experience of 50 cent. He does not wish to change anything about what 50 cent is doing or saying, so that the readers can achieve the exact same perspective of 50 cent as he has. This makes readers feel like they are actually having a conversation with the famous rapper. There are two sides to 50 cent. One, the boy who simply wanted to earn enough money to survive, and only thought about how he could sell more drugs and eliminate his opponents. On the other side, there is the 50 cent who survived being shot, sold 2.1 million copies of his album in the first three weeks of his career, and performed in front of 15.000 people. The ‘American dream’ could easily be the theme of 50 cent’s life., Because he has achieved what most street-life people dream about – respect, money and fame. He broke his social heritage and made himself into an icon of the Afro American people. He is not only famous in the United States, but he is also famous throughout the world. The article shows 50 cent’s life story, his way of speaking and his personality. But it also leaves the reader with a few questions. Was 50 cent lucky to be shot? Would 50 cent be famous today if he had not sold drugs when he was only 12 years old? Would he have achieved all he has achieved if he had been a well-behaved boy who had stayed in school? Or does he even deserve his fame and money after years as a hard criminal? The article shows us 50 cent as a person, but it also poses questions about America and about 50 cent’s place.