It may have been released seventeen years ago, but 50 Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin' classic "Many Men" has proven to have had a lasting impact on the artists of today. Case in point, both 21 Savage and Pop Smoke found themselves inspired by the track, which saw Fif defiantly staring death in the eye and refusing to blink. During an interview with Spotify’s RapCaviar, Head Of Urban Music Carl Chery actually called "Many Men" the most influential song of 2020 -- a claim 50 appears to agree with.
Jeezy Diss On "Many Men"">Graham Denholm/Getty Images
"They made it that for me," reflects 50. "The younger artists doing it over, they made it that. It's because they feel the same way. You can't make a person decide to write a song. It's influenced by a song. Creatively, it's them going you know what? It's how I feel right now. You know, the tones of what's going on with them matches the record."
He proceeds to acknowledge 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's own Savage Mode II highlight "Many Men," a track that found 21 taking a few pointed shots at Jeezy. "Whether you're addressing another artist, like in 21 Savage's piece he dealt with some not so good feelings he had toward Jeezy. Pop was here, Pop didn't even use the title in it. The melodies is what struck the chord in him. The demographic didn't mean something to them, in that timeframe there was nothing better than that."
"I think you're going to see more artists mirror some of the things from my music, even if they're doing it a little different," he continues. "The cadences are a little different cause they're rapping. And why I pointed out that 'Many Men' was the slowest track on Get Rich Or Die Tryin, is because it fits production-wise now. Musically now, things are slower. They like rapping to r&b beats. It provides more space for them to make changes in the cadences.
Check out Fif's reflections on "Many Men" and the influence it has come to have on the rap game below, courtesy of Spotify's RapCaviar.