50 Cent & Eminem’s First Meeting: From Bulletproof Vest To Brotherhood
G-Unit boss 50 Cent recalled how he donned a bulletproof vest for his initial meeting with Eminem in Los Angeles in 2000.
During an interview for “Million Dollaz Worth of Game,” 50 Cent revealed the details of his nervously anticipated encounter with Marshall Mathers, known to the world as Eminem.
50 Cent’s apprehension was high, leading him to wear protective gear through the airport.
“It was wild,” 50 Cent said. “Remember that show they had, ‘Punk’d’ on MTV? I thought they had cameras and they was gonna come out and say, ‘You’ve been Punk’d.’ I was in California. He flew me to L.A. I came out, I was so bugged out from the experience that I came through the airport with the (bulletproof) vest and s**t on. I’m lucky I took the shock plate out the front of the joint because when I came through it (didn’t go off).”
The momentous meeting, which took place amid the success of Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, left 50 Cent amazed at how grounded Eminem remained despite selling 1.7 million records in the first week.
The rapper expressed his enthusiasm for the budding artist.
“I get there, he’s like, ‘Yo!’ Hugs me, feel the vest and s### and was like (shocked),” 50 Cent continued. “(I said), ‘Yo, this is going to be the biggest s### ever, right?’ He’s like, ‘Yo, so excited.’ It made me question whether what was happening was happening was right. It felt so good that it couldn’t be right. I’m like, ‘Yo, nah.’ When I left that meeting, I didn’t want him to feel like he bought a problem so I wouldn’t say anything about Ja Rule and them.”
By 2002, 50 Cent inked a deal with Shady Records, Eminem’s label, and Aftermath Entertainment, Dr. Dre’s production house.
This partnership gave birth to numerous collaborative tracks, including the 2006 hit “You Don’t Know” and 2012’s “My Life.”
50 Cent remains reflective about that pivotal meeting with Eminem.
“The first night I met him, he had an event. The Marshall Mathers LP just came out,” he said. “The first week he sold 1.7 million records. And he was so excited about me that I’m looking like, ‘(Are) you serious?’”