Straight to the Bank: Interscope to Release 50 Cent Compilation

Interscope Records is gonna party like it’s your birthday by releasing a compilation by Queens rapper 50 Cent.

Born Curtis Jackson in the South Jamaica borough, 50 Cent walked away from a life selling drugs to pursue a music career. But his first taste of success–a well-received debut single, “How to Rob,” from an album recorded for Columbia Records–was thrown into jeopardy when an assailant shot him nine times outside his grandmother’s home. After recovering and recording new material, 50 connected with Eminem and Dr. Dre, signing a deal to their Shady/Aftermath labels and releasing the hotly-anticipated Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003. Featuring two back to back Billboard No. 1s (“In Da Club” and “21 Questions”), 50’s look and flow made him one of the hottest rappers in the game, and he parlayed that success into many fields, from shepherding new talent (his local friends in hip-hop collective G-Unit, including Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and Tony Yayo) to good old-fashioned entrepreneurship (with investments in companies like Vitamin Water, SMS Audio and the nonprofit G-Unity Foundation, 50 was at one point one of the richest rappers in the world).

50’s stock began to drop after an infamous rivalry with Kanye West (West’s third album Graduation and Jackson’s Curtis hit stores the same day, and while West handily outsold 50, it was only the second time in the SoundScan era that the top two albums eclipsed 600,000 units sold apiece). And fans continue to wait for his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal, which has been in development since before his last album, 2014’s Animal Ambition (his first since departing Interscope). But this compilation–which includes 50’s biggest hit singles, two non-LP tracks meant for fourth album Before I Self-Destruct (2009) and making their physical debut, and the bonus track “How to Rob”–serves as a great reminder of that time when 50 Cent was smart money.

Best of 50 Cent is due April 7 on CD and vinyl; check out the full track list below!

Best of 50 Cent (Interscope B0026471-02, 2017)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. (TBD)

In Da Club
21 Questions (feat. Nate Dogg)
P.I.M.P.
Disco Inferno
Candy Shop (feat. Olivia)
Just a Little Bit
Outta Control (Remix feat. Mobb Deep)
Hustler’s Ambition
Best Friend (Remix feat. Olivia)
Window Shopper
Ayo Technology (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
I Get Money
Straight to the Bank
I’ll Still Kill (feat. Akon)
Get Up
I Get It In
Baby by Me (feat. Ne-Yo)
How to Rob (feat. The Madd Rapper)

Tracks 1-3 from Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2003)
Tracks 4-6 and original version of Track 7 from The Massacre (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2005)
Tracks 8 and 10 and original version of Track 9 from Get Rich or Die Tryin’: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture (G-Unit/Interscope, 2006)
Tracks 11-14 from Curtis (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2007)
Tracks 15-16 from non-LP singles (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2008/2009). Previously unavailable on CD
Track 17 from Before I Self-Destruct (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2009)
Track 18 from In Too Deep Soundtrack (Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax CK 63683, 1999)

Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.