If you ever want access to 50 Cent's innermost thoughts at any given time, take a look at his Instagram feed at 50 percent zoom. The desktop suite thus becomes a full-scale model of the Hollywood Squares television set, by which the characters occupy multiple boxes at once as if to illustrate 50 Cent's claustrophobic mind during a battle sequence. This image goes onto describe the obsessive nature with which he operates on a weekly basis, or in some respect: the relentless approach he takes on his "targets," in full assurance they won't and can't be saved.
This week, two major storylines carried on from the week before. Let me preface this by saying, the whole Teairra Mari angle is really losing its edge. The first order of business for 50 was the continuation of the Young Buck saga. After deliberating on their dynamic for the better part of last week, 50 Cent's antagonism of his former comrade devolved into a battle of the memes, and a one-sided one at that.
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Second, on the itinerary this week was the prolongment of the Randall Emmett scandal, culminating in the producer yielding to his million dollar demands in record time - a fact that was confirmed to the press by a rep claiming ThisIs50 and even the rapper himself, in a since-deleted Instagram post.
In all his insolence, 50 Cent felt inclined to drop the matter once Emmett repaid his debt. Interesting enough, money is the same commodity that stokes the very worst in his character. Funny how that work, isn't it?
Don't get me wrong, the endearing-version of 50 Cent who once flirted with Vivica A. Fox at the 2013 BET Awards lingers on in the dormant quarters of his mind. But that's just it: Fifty doesn't produce that winsome smile quite as easily in 2019. During the week that was April 26th to the present moment, the Curtis of Old that Vivica enjoyed for a brief moment, remained tucked away all the same.
"MR. #METOO"
50 Cent's attempts to recoupe Randall Emmett's debt to him almost came together by accident. In fact, 50 Cent was going about the same mindless exercise that got him tangled up Teairra Mari when Emmett entered the frame. At the heart of their dealings lies a bait-and-switch maneuver 50 has perfected over time. By using a video clip showing his fiancee Lala Kent admitting to "the whole nine yards" on the night they made each other's acquaintance, 50 was able to get a rise out of his would-be opponent.
Although less incriminating than sex tape stills used against Teairra, the Emmett ruse worked because: a) the threat of public humiliation, and worse yet, b) the threat of being forced into a position no different than blackmail.
Consider this, when you're a Hollywood-type with as many skeletons in your closet as someone like Emmett, you pay the ransom and think nothing of it. So, within hours of sending a meme-worthy text message over to his creditor (sorry fofty), Emmett acquiesced to a portion of the $1 million ransom, to a total of $250,000. Fiddy was having none of it.
"Keep playing with me and get ya f---ing head cracked in front of everybody," 50 re-iterated, with the knowledge that Randall was in his pocket at this point in time. Surely enough, the posturing worked, because, by week's end, 50's bank account was up another $750,000, as well as a myriad of apologies from a completely emasculated Emmett. "Yo Fif, sorry we had to go through all that craziness this weekend," Emmett typed out. "Glad we are settled up! Wishing you continued success."
It's at this point, 50 Cent signaled an end to hostilities with one foe, only to re-open another chapter at the blink of an eye. With 50 Cent snarling at the face of the web traffic he'd generated off of Emmett's tarnished record, it was time to get into his "Judge Dredd" costume for another mallet drop. The following post would be the last time 50 Cent would issue a "general proviso" without anyone by name. Trespassers were to be shot on sight, past this very point.
THE EMBELLISHED "BLACK GLOVE" AFFAIR
Young Buck's beef with 50 Cent concerns the restrictive nature of his G-Unit contract. The hostilities got their start when Buck finally spoke out about the lack of progress over the studio album he'd been promised over a year ago. The difference being: this venture would be different than the rest of his middling mixtapes in stature due to Dr. Dre's participation. Unfortunately, that never came to be as promised, drawing the ire of an understandably impatient Buck, resorting to the public eye after 50 Cent took measures to block off all private channels.
As a result of 50 Cent's non-compliance, Buck demanded that his contract be rescinded. Of course, Fifty didn't take too kindly to being ordered around from someone he once considered his underling. So instead of re-opening those private channels, 50 Cent loaded the cannon with another round of disparaging remarks about Buck's rumored affair with a transgender woman.
At the cost of sounding like a broken record, 50 Cent employed this repetitious tactic against his former comrade to the point of oblivion - in other words, the situation had become so hazy that bystanders stopped questioning the logic behind his posts. A large percentage of 50 Cent's audience joined in at a time when Young Buck had already resigned himself to his battle scars.
Buck stopped defending himself altogether, opening him up to a dangerous game of information warfare. Not that he should be required to respond every last one of 50 Cent's quips. But the constant barrage did have the effect of skewing public memory in 50's favor. Call it recency bias all you want, the version of Curtis that showed up for battle this go-around is a cut above the common bully - as he displayed the kind of tactical guile against Buck that you'd expect from a legionnaire with a star next to their name.