In an Q&A session with King Magazine, G-Unit boss 50 Cent
shares his strategy for holding his millions together during the global economic recession.

People are struggling to make money in the music industry. Do you have a lot of investments outside of entertainment?
Absolutely. I make more money away from music than I do off of music—well, I was. Shit is terrible right now. Look at the economy in general. General Motors and Chrysler are looking for a bailout. It’s going to be a financial issue if they don’t succeed, though. If they don’t receive the assistance, they will go bankrupt in the next couple of years.

Jay-Z has signed a so-called 360-degree deal with Live Nation that includes a large advance in exchange for pieces of his touring and merchandise. Would you ever sign that type of deal?
I don’t know if I’m willing to do a 360-degree deal at this point. I mean, Jay is in a different space in his career. He may be tired of running around and negotiating each individual deal. The 360 deal would be actually putting that in someone else’s hands to support those outside ventures taking place.

So you wouldn’t feel great about giving up those percentages?
I’m comfortable doing it the way I’ve been doing it. The difference between him [and me] is obvious. He’s married, he’s getting ready to be 40 years old. He’s in a different place, he might not want to run around, and even touring may soon be out of the question. He might want to be in the office and run one of the companies. He’s got enough business sense to do that. He can do whatever he wants.

Who has the best model for staying relevant to fans?
Puffy has the best model for staying relevant, because [he does it] without a song. He’s been able to maintain an interest and stay in a space to executive produce television and film projects, and stay relevant to hip-hop culture. What was the last record that made you feel like, ‘Oh, my God, Puffy is on fire’? You don’t need it. That’s what makes his business model exciting to me. There are only three of us to look at: Jay, [me] and Puff. [We have] three totally different situations. We’ve just been a part of hip-hop culture. That’s the similarity. I still think they’ll be relevant. I just think they’re like the fire hydrant: You can’t move those guys out of the street. I think they’ll [still] be the guys you need to connect with [to] get a shot.

So where will your brand be in the future?
Well, I believe that I will have a stronger position as we move forward. What I have on my side is age. [Laughs] See, in the next five years they’ll be 45 and 44 years old. And I’ll just be close to where they are now…..

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