He recently sat down with Keith Murphy of Vibe.com to talk about the concept of the album, Prodigy, Mobb Deep and being inspired by two of the greatest rappers in history, who also call New York City home.
On Nas, Rakim and Prodigy of Mobb Deep
When I fell in love with hip-hop it was more important that you had your own style than you being able to master a version of Rakim or a version of another artist’s style. Nobody does that better than [Rakim]. Even with new content that flow is still his flow. Nas is [also] one of those guys…he has his own. Even if some people make comparisons that was just Queensbridge, man. That period for me…Mobb Deep, Prodigy is in his own class in my mind.
On Animal Ambition’s concept.
Animal Ambition is about prosperity and the effects of it. All the sides of the coin. A lot of people think about how successful you are doing when it comes to prosperity, but the envy connected to it like, ‘Damn, n*ggas wanna want to stick me for my paper.’ That was BIG rapping after Ready To Die when he actually made some money and felt new energy from people that he didn’t feel before with the success he had at that point. It’s going to be really interesting because some of [Animal Ambition] is written from a slightly warped perspective. But it’s all about prosperity.
50 will be performing live on Tuesday, March 11, in Austin at the South by Southwest Music Festival. The show is being held at 1100 Warehouse and starts and 8 P.M. The opening acts are Kidd Kidd and Machine Gun Kelly.
The concert will be streamed live via the Hang/w app for iPhone, iPad and Android users. You can download the free app from Google Play (Android) or iTunes.
Article Appeared @http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/50-cent-speaks-on-being-inspired-by-rakim-nas-while-writing