First off I don't want anyone to think that I don't like 50, he's a genius and he is still a very successful person. I just think it's weird that he was THE dominant rapper of the early-mid 00's with an entire musical empire, but if Street King Immortal were to come out next week it would do something like 40k sales tbh. Which is not bad at all, but I feel like it should be way higher. Wayne dropped Carter V after years of radio silence and got almost 500k first week. Jay Z dropped 4:44 and did more than 250k. Kanye drops gospel albums that push 250k as well. Eminem did a surprise release and got 400k~. Meanwhile the Kanan Tape from 2015 flopped. The song with Ed Sheeran that released this year didn't do very well. The song he heavily marketed and hyped featuring 6ix9ine didn't do that well either.

Maybe it has to do with 50's music and image being such a product of its era? He was THE definitive rapper of the early-mid 2000's, but I think how he marketed and presented himself and his music, his style could only be confined to that time period. Jay Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye almost have a timeless factor to them, something that 50 lacks imo. They were incredibly talented, often at the forefront of new trends, new fashion, and new ideas, while 50 really wasn't. Which is sad because I wish 50 was still as big as he was when I was in elementary school. Luckily he isn't washed up in the slightest, he has had tons of successful businesses and ventures over the years which will keep him and his family living comfortably for a long, long time.

But am I missing something? Was there some other reason for his decline? Did Kanye beating him in sales really cause his image to crumble so badly that his music empire disappeared? Idk

He did until Kanye

Cos Graduation was better

kanye beating him sales wise marked the end of 50 cent era rappers pretty much

because he was never that good

Kanye ended his music career

That's crazy to think about if that is the #1 reason why he failed. It kind of shows that people were less on board with 50 for his music and more for the fact that he represented a certain popular image, and when that image was shown to be outdated, 50 was finished. All of those tens of millions of fans pretty much forgot about him. It's sad

He always relied on beef, gimmicks and cared more about billboard numbers more than actual artistry

Truly a old era version of 6ix9ine

Troy Ave got the streets on fire #powder

yeah pretty much, but i think its also due to the fact that after his before i selfdestruct album (which flopped for his standards) he kinda just gave the music thing a rest it seems like, he never fully recovered after that

nba youngboy does

Explain how Eminem is still relevant even though he is worse than 50 then. And I don't really disagree with you, 50's music was kind of basic and unremarkable compared to people like Wayne or Kanye. But Eminem has been atrocious for years, maybe even since his first album, yet people still love him... I think him being white was a massive part of his success but it can't explain why people are still so obsessed with him all of these years later, because s***ty acts like Vanilla Ice, Mackelmore, Machine Gun Kelly, etc. are all irrelevant. Except for Mac Miller ofc, because he actually made good music

Because he needs Dr Dre beats. And GRODT was a masterpiece so there's really nowhere to go from there.

Because he was a fad. T.i even lasted longer. Eminem gave him life and when Kanye made better music in 2007 that killed his career

because eminem was one of the GOATs at one time

50 wasn’t. Also Eminem actually takes music seriously while 50 tried to be an actor and now just d***s around on IG

Yeah it's just that artists who ride fads usually do not get nearly as big as 50.

He kind of was though... and a lot of people still consider him to be one of the GOATs

He had the biggest rapper in the world at the height of his career.

yeah that's what's so weird about it to me. Like if Drake were to release an album 10 years from now it would probably still get #1 and go platinum in under a month. But I guess Drake has shown that he is an expert at adjusting himself to new waves and such unlike 50.

Drake isn't a fad though. People genuinely rock with him and he didn't peak that early. 50's success comes from him being Em's protege. Drake carved his own lane after Wayne mentored him. Same with Nicki. Also, Drake was already building a fanbase without Wayne.

This I think people don't realize 50 was the OG 6ix9ine tbh. He built his brand with songs like How To Rob and beefing.

He got beat by a nerd with an anime themed album and videos wit a giant teddy bear on the cover.

If he went up vs Wayne or TI it woulda been fine but losing to Kanye hurt him.