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— by Shaheem Reid and Sway Calloway
It's unfortunate, but it's a proven fact: When high-profile MCs square off in a war of words, the public, the media and the industry pay attention. You can hear the debate from the back of the school bus to message boards on the Internet. You'll even overhear 50-year-olds saying, as they fold up their newspapers, "That 50 Cent is crazy!"
And needless to say, it sells records. Riding headlines such as "RAP WAR" and "SHOT 97," 50 Cent has built a storm of publicity around the follow-up to his 11-million-selling debut LP by squaring off against one of the greatest MCs of all time (Nas), two of the most street-credible hip-hop figures (Shyne and Fat Joe) and even two of his own labelmates (Jadakiss and former G-Unit member Game).
The Massacre has sold nearly 2 million copies in its first two weeks of release, but that success hasn't come without consequences. 50 and Game were both linked to the now-infamous shooting in front of Hot 97's building late last month. The situation was growing so potentially lethal that the two publicly called a truce, proving that the two MCs could come together as grown men and set an example for the music.
But the dust hasn't settled yet for 50: The general of the G-Unit now has to contend with retaliation from both Jadakiss and Joe. While D-Block's lyrical champ and the don of the Terror Squad did not want to get into it with 50, they haven't backed down.
As you'll read here, when you're involved in a high-profile rap battle, you have to think about a lot more than a few bars to make a whole barbershop full of people crack their sides, or a line so disrespectful that your opponent will wince. Unfortunately, you have to think about your safety, and about permanently damaging the culture that you love so much. The last thing that Joe and Jada say they want is for the beef to get out of hand and spill off of vinyl. They are both cognizant of what can happen.
MTV: You've said that you heard about "Piggy Bank" three months before it came out. What did you think when you actually heard the song?
Jadakiss: I was laughing at it. When I heard the Beanie Sigel [dis freestyle toward Jada a couple of years ago], that hurt me way harder than when I heard "Piggy Bank." "Piggy Bank" was funny. It's on now — "shots fired"! "Shots Fired" is the name of [Jada's retaliation] song, actually. You got to cop the Styles P Time Is Money album to hear that. But there will be some warning shots fired before that.
MTV: You talk about shots being fired, and recently ...
Jadakiss: Shot were really fired. No doubt. At the end of the day, I got to charge it to you, whoever the radio personalities are. Y'all calling these artists everyday. Y'all sitting down with me to ask me how I feel; you'll be sitting down with him to ask him how he feels. That's stirring it up. Then, as soon as the shots is fired, nobody got nothing to do with it no more. It's like a double-edged sword. It comes to a point where everybody's a grown man, and how long are you just going to sit there and be degraded?
Me, I'm not mad. Everything I'm going to say is going to stay in the booth. There's nothing he can really say about me except he sold more records than me. People don't love me for selling millions of records; they love me because I'm a spitter. I got a good personality, I'm a good guy and that's just it. I'm in the 'hood, I'm hands-on. So he can't destroy me. When shots get fired, though, don't look at me like the bad guy. You shouldn't really look at nobody, 'cause if ya'll don't want the shots to get fired, keep sweepin' it under the rug.
MTV: 50 has put the blame on the media, too. But the fact of the matter is, we don't make the records. What are we supposed to do when we're interviewing somebody about their album and ...
Jadakiss: He ain't even promoting "Candy Stick" ["Candy Shop"], or whatever that song is, as much as the "Piggy Bank" song. The people want to hear it, you guys start interviewing him about it, then it becomes bigger than what it really is. 'Cause really, it's only one line [he says about Jada], you know. But on the other hand, it's your job to ask me questions. It's Funkmaster Flex's job to ask questions, but when some people get stuff caught in their feelings and stuff happens ... I just don't like when they take it to Pac and Big, everybody keeps making it out to be "East Coast/ West Coast," "Violence in rap," "Rap wars." Where did it come from? It takes me to get in beef with 50 for MTV to come to D-Block Studios. I just had a great year, Grammy nominations and all of that. This whole beef is about to overpower all of that. That just tells you people want to hear drama. This is what it is, this is life. It's like boxing, but shots is fired.
MTV: You've been through a huge battle before, with Beanie Sigel.
Jadakiss: This is different, though. I knew Sigel more than I know 50. I don't know 50 at all. I only met him two times — briefly, two or three minutes, maybe less than that. I've met Sigel's moms. I met Sigel, I did songs with Sigel, I sat in the studio with him and talked with him for a decent amount of time. When I first met him, it was a different type of embracing so when I heard that song he made [dissing Jada], it kinda hurt me a little before I could come back.
MTV: Those feelings aren't the same about squaring off with 50?
Jadakiss: It's beautiful for me! More exposure, more everything. Plus, he's not lyrical. He makes good songs but he don't think he's better than me as a lyricist. Put all the money, all the units, put everything behind us — and [play] good old-fashioned lyrics with an instrumental, I'll wear him out. You know that. The whole world knows that.
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