Time Flies, But You’re The Pilot.

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Narrated by Marcus A.

The most beautiful thing about a new year approaching is the sense of change that can take place. This isn’t anything unfamiliar to us humans. Every January there’s an influx of people joining a gym, signing up for fitness clubs, or changing their nutritional diet. The beginning of the year always seems like the perfect time to get a fresh start on personal changes. This can be as extreme as moving to a new place, starting a new relationship, or changing a life career. It also can be as subtle as changing your hair color, starting a journal, or even replaying a game over after you beat it. Knowing that we don’t have to approach things the same way we are used to is relieving; we don’t feel imprisoned by our decisions or lifestyle.

The downside of this new year new me change is that once that initial adrenaline run out, we’re back to our old routines, and we kind of just give up for the year. We convince ourselves that another time would be a better time. Knowing this pattern, we can prep ourselves to move forward from this resistance. If we know it’s coming, we can plan for it. The only things that are certain in life are change and death, and if we don’t decide on the change, unforeseen change will happen to us. We have to reinvent ourselves in a way that counteracts how we usually handle things.

Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, understood this concept and took advantage of it. I’m sure many of us think of 50 as the Instagram troll. He is quick to let us know his opinion about other celebrities and don’t you dare borrow money from him, the whole world would know it. Just to brush on his pettiness, 50 once bought 200 tickets to his former rap rival Ja Rule’s concert, just so the arena would be empty. 50 have made fun of Future, Suge Knight, Floyd Mayweather, Michael Jackson, Meek Mill, Rick Ross, Vivica A. Fox, Oprah, and even his son. 50 is also known for writing and producing multiple movies and shows, including current ones like “Power” and “Black Mafia Family (BMF)”.

Curtis understood at a young age that if he was to be successful, he would have to constantly reinvent who he was and shape how the world perceived him. At 12, Curtis sold drugs in Southside Queens. He earned a decent wage. During a drug sting, he was locked up at the age of 16. While locked up, Curtis had plenty of time to reflect; he realized that if he continued to sell drugs, he would have a similar fate to other drug dealers, even if he was successful. He would treat selling drugs as a nine-to-five while investing his money in other things. He decided he would try to make it in the music business, then branch off to something more lucrative. He named himself 50 Cent, based on a Brooklyn robber in the 80s. 50 was determined he would either get rich or die trying. To stay afloat, 50 decided to keep hustling until he built a street and rap name for himself. 50 worked on his craft and started making music that reflected the streets that he experienced. His sound was tough, something the streets were missing; this made him a local celebrity. He began mentoring with Jam Master Jay and eventually got signed by Columbia Records.

I was born alone and I will die alone. I’ve got to do what’s right for me and not live my life the way anybody else wants it.

CURTIS JACKSON

50 was making a name for himself, as a rapper and a hustler. One of 50’s street rivals attempted to murder him, by shooting him nine times. Columbia Records dropped him as he seemed associated with too much violence. He felt he had finally got what he wanted, only to have it all taken from him. 50 kept making music as he recovered from his wounds; his voice now had a hiss to it as he still had bullet fragments embedded in his tongue. He released a track titled: “Fuck You”, directed at his opposition, letting everyone know he was still alive. Rapper Eminem heard his music and knew 50 was the future of rap. He signed him to his label and would later help 50 start his own label with Interscope.

50 was so ambitious that he didn’t wait for his label to do anything for him. He started and funded his own music videos and marketing schemes. He decided that his destiny wouldn’t be depicted by Interscope. 50 created a website called ThisIs50.com so he could talk directly to his fan base and receive feedback on tracks he was working on. He taught himself the ins and outs of the record label so that when it became time to resign, he could deny it and form his own label called G-Unit. 50 felt he needed to catapult his career, and he found the perfect person, rapper Ja Rule. Ja Rule was one of the hottest rappers at that time. 50’s street crew had an incident with him that exposed Ja Rule as a “fake hood” rapper. 50, in a sense, took Ja Rule’s relevancy from him by trolling him for being a “wannabe gangster”. During his and Ja Rule’s controversy, he released his first album “Get Rich or Die Trying”, which featured songs “In Da Club “, “Wanksta” and “21 Questions “. He won the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the 2003 American Music Awards.

Like when he was a hustler, Curtis predicted his fate as a rapper. He noticed that in the entertainment industry, there are only a few artists who can maintain a long career, and it’s a fight to remain relevant. He decided that moment was the wisest time to get into ventures other rappers weren’t into. Curtis got offered a plethora of endorsements, but only took the ones that would help him build something long-term, not just a single paycheck. These include creating his own Vitamin Water, sports trucks, movies, video games, and books. If things didn’t work out, at least he had experienced it and could use it later down the road. Curtis would continue to make music, but what he predicted would eventually become his reality. He had to reinvent himself, again. His life was different and the music industry changed, so he decided it was time to kill 50 Cent, figuratively of course. He removed his signature tattoos and jewelry and started working more on executive relationships and projects behind the scenes. His STARZ series is just his latest hustle, only Curtis knows what’s next, but you can bet whatever it is it’s already being worked on and it’ll take a different Curtis.

50 cent is a person I created. Soon it will be time to destroy him and become somebody else.

CURTIS JACKSON

Curtis has changed his personality and career to suit his own motives. At 47, he is undoubtedly one of the most active rappers/business moguls, and he’s still going. He is a living example of reinventing yourself. This is a lesson we all can learn from Curtis. It’s important to analyze everything we start with the end in mind. Instead of letting the world happen to us, be ready to move on to the next thing and give it our all. Avoid wasting our time with anything that doesn’t have longevity. Use your time and money to build yourself up so you don’t have to answer to anyone and leave when you’re no longer benefiting or have bigger fish to catch.