Best thread of the year. Fiddy be frontin' For MTV Ghettotabulous Buy his cd G-UNIT white boys all get the shout Some are too stupid to figure it out "Fiddy own dem Ferraris!" they cry "Peoples on teh internets lie!" Enzo, F40, F50, 599 They aren't really his cars, Please continue to whine.
LOL! This is a pretty good thread I think, gone a bit off topic though. This is a bad thread: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=166322
I find it interesting how members of this forum are so quick to draw conclusions about hip hop stars and their ability as business people (among other things). I'm not for or against 50 cents music but, I think it would be worth while for some here to get more understanding (by doing some research) before they start making such quick judgements. Hip hop is big business. What's more, coming from the projects, being shot 9 times to losing a mother and a father to being where 50 is at in his career by age 32 isn't exactly peanuts. Links to consider: http://www.forbes.com/business/2007/09/18/igetmoney-remix-50cent-biz-media-cz_lg_0918bizigetmoney.html http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/53/M80Q.html http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/adtrack/2007-07-29-vitamin-water-50-cent_N.htm Again, I'm not bashing anyone in particular on the forum, nor am I a huge fan of hip hop, I'm just saying hip hop is big business, the music isn't always negative and many of these guys have a lot of business smarts and do really well. In the case of 50 Cent - the guys doing well for himself. Many people with a lot more resources growing up do much worse.
With that Forbes article, it seems 50 Cent has very good lawyers, financial advisors, and investment managers to make him $$. I don't think he could even spell the word "investment" if asked to.
My point was simply to dispute the stereotype that many have of hip hop entertainers as dim witted and poor money managers. That's just not the case. That is my point. You're correct, my post had nothing to do with the fact that they were not his cars. It was slightly off topic. The fact that they are not his cars misrepresents him and is poor judgement for whomever is responsible, whether its him or his management or MTV networks, but that fact that the cars are not his should not be construed as meaning he cannot afford them which someone alluded to earlier in a post.
"Whomever is responsible"? The guy lied, plain and simple. He clearly stated they were his cars. So, if I lie, is it safe to say that someone else may be responsible? When you have that much wealth, why would you need to pretend that you owned those cars? Oddly enough, this phenomenon only seems to exist with hip hop artists. I'm sure he could afford those cars, but his conduct reveals a lot about his character. I have to say that I am so sick of the new-money hip-hop artists flaunting their money. Those guys need to get a life and grow up.
How does this only exist with hip hop artists? that line doesnt make any sense......you act like 50 is the first person to be rich and pretend like cars were his. I mean, he can obviously afford all of those cars 4x over but its business, its an image that someone (maybe him maybe not) thought he needed to keep up. Obviously, the actual owner of those cars understood this and lent him the cars. The only reason its such a big deal is because of who he is and the fact that its on TV. And flaunting their money???? hahah dont make me laugh, if you were in his shoes I'm sure you would be flaunting your money as well, nothing wrong with. I dont understand.....people are hating on 50 cent like they actually know the guy. Questioning his character, his business skills (440 million later and he has no business skills), all because of a minute long TV clip and the fact that hes a rapper. This thread is hilarious. -Josh
Flaunting money is NOT a good thing, HOWEVER, for someone like 50 Cent, having the "image" of being rich and arrogant is what makes him. The point of this bit on tv was for him to maintain that image, regardless of any of it is his in "real life". It's just PR for whatever he is selling. On him having money in the first place, he is a marketable "icon", and he might be making a lot of money, but the people above him that pull his strings are making a whole lot more. As to Vitamin Water, I'm sure someone approached him a while back and offered him a deal to invest and promote, and it worked out. Where there's that, I'm sure there are many other things people have suckered him into investing in that didn't work out. I'm sure if you needed to raise money for a business and you had access to the hiphop/basketball types with a bunch of cash lying around, by making them feel like "business people" you could influence them to go along with quite a bit.
No, not really. I wasn't raised like that and its just something I don't do. Now, If I was driving a buddies Enzo and met a chick at the gas station, would I tell her that its not mine? probably not! lol I'm not saying that he didn't lie, because he did. The cars aren't his and thats that. But, I'm just saying theres no need to judge the man like many have done in this thread----character or business wise. I've met wealthy people who have lied about the cars they have, lied about the money they have, lied about whatever. I agree that its pointless to lie about something like a car, especially when you can just go buy the car, but to question the mans business skills, character, or anything else really without knowing the reasoning behind this is stupid imo. Point it, people are taking this too far instead of taking it for what it is.......a TV show, something meant to entertain. 50 is at the height of his popularity, always dropping Ferrari qoutes, F50-50cent (get it?), get all the F car supercars in here to compliment the big ass house he has. Seems like a good business move to me. Look how much attention its getting and how much its going to get when its aired.
Right. And all I am saying is that those types of people are sorry excuses for human beings. 50 Cent included. I've never lied about anything I have/own, and would never associate with people that would/have/did. And for some reason, hip hop artists seem to be guilty of this quite often. Bling bling, big ballers. Give me a break.
I see what your saying. I guess what I was meaning to say is that I understand the way a person like him is. And when I say "him", I mean a minority going from not having anything to all of a sudden (in 5 years) having everything. And I still don't understand why many here do not think of 50 Cent as a businessman. Would you consider Jay-Z a businessman? or Puff Daddy? Russell Simmons? the list goes on. Entertainment figures that have figured (whether its on their own or with others) that they are marketable and have found good ways to invest their money. 50 got a record deal for 1 million dollars in 2003. The first thing he did? International trademark on "G-Unit".......now its global, clothes,video games, music, films, etc....Glaceau approached him, yes, about using his face for promotion but he got 10% in exchange....wheres the hate coming from? I mean, do you consider most hiphop/basketball types to be not too smart with money or not in tune with business? Jimmy Iovine may or may not make more than 50, along with the CEO of Vitam Water and whoever else is above 50, but you can't deny his business skills. Everything you've said can be applied to any businessman, and I'm sure you wouldn't be criticizing them like this.... -Josh
Fair enough. What you say is the truth, Hip Hop artists do seem to lie a lot.....but to me, its entertainment and I don't take it that serious 99% of the time, same with ANY other kind of music (where other artists lie too). Maybe its because I'm young and actually like Hip Hop, who knows, but I see where your coming from.....just don't look at it the same way, if that makes sense. -Josh
Thats exactly right. IMO in the hip-hop/Rap world, Image is 95% of the success, and talent is 5%. 10 years ago the whole "bling bling" era began, ushering in a new meaning of "urban wealth" and luxury in the ghetto. Many performers have capitalized on this trend, and have become millionaires for exhibiting that same image. The more wealth you gather, and the more objects you consume (alcohol, drugs, cars, women) vastly increase your popularity on the market. This cribs video is just a business ploy and image booster for 50 cent, hopefully earning him more credibility and lust as a hiphop performer.
That pretend image does NOT just exist in hip-hoppers, but MTV seems to encourage it. When MTV Cribs covered Damon Jones at his house in Cleveland, the local Mercedes dealer took an SLR and a couple other AMG cars and parked them in his garage just for the shoot. Jones clearly said that they were his. WHY? Who knows. He could easily buy them. So could 50 cent. But they would rather pretend that they have them.
PR /Advertising/Brand Awareness The Mercedes dealer probably wanted him to say the cars were his... makes everyone want to aspire to buy the same.