50 Cent didn’t like Eminem when the Detroit rapper first emerged on the Hip-Hop scene.
According to DJ Domination, who was deeply embedded in G-Unit’s early days, the block wasn’t feeling Eminem’s music at all.
Instead, everyone was bumping fellow Queens rappers Mobb Deep and their classic Murda Muzik, which was dominating at the time.
“I’mma be real with y’all. 50 didn’t even like Eminem originally. We was on the block and I used to listen to Eminem,” DJ Domination said during an interview with Cam Capone News. “When his first album came out, they used to have a a boom box on top of the on top of the phone booth. And dudes was like, ‘Nah, that yo that dude, he whack. 50 was a part of it. Everybody on the block was against me. They did not want to bump this dude music, right? They wanted to bump Murda Muzik. However, I liked Eminem. They wasn’t jacking him. When Eminem said 50 Cent is his favorite rapper, guess what? Now all of a sudden, [50 was like] ‘this my favorite white boy.’ I just laughed. A second ago, y’all ain’t like him.”
Domination was instrumental in G-Unit’s formation during the early 2000s.
He worked closely with Bang Em Smurf, who had a stake in the company with 50 Cent and served as Domination’s artist representative.
Smurf believed in Domination’s talent and gave him the structure he needed to develop as an artist. Smurf taught him how to write proper song structures; eight-bar hooks, three 16-bar verses, which was the standard back then.
At the time 50 signed to Eminem’s Shady Records in 2002, the Queens rapper was facing serious obstacles. He’d been shot and was trying to make a comeback, but the industry had blackballed him.
Murder Inc. and Irv Gotti were making it clear that anyone working with 50 Cent would face consequences. Despite the pressure, 50 had multiple deals on the table.
He chose Eminem because it was his best bet. Over the years, 50 Cent and Eminem became best friends. Their bond was built on loyalty, trust, and mutual respect.
When 50 was at his lowest point, Eminem gave him the break he desperately needed. That life-changing deal launched 50 into superstardom and created a partnership that would reshape Hip-Hop forever.