50 Cent has shown an interest in being something of a guiding force in the careers of younger hip-hop stars. Several years ago, he worked closely with Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy as the latter experienced success in his career. Last year, 50 also played a sort of “big brother” role to controversial Chicago rapper Chief Keef, who found himself embroiled in several legal and PR entanglements over the past 18 months.
But as Keef spent the past few months getting into a seemingly endless series of mishaps — from being arrested for smoking marijuana to speeding to various verbal altercations on social media — 50 has acknowledged that the young man isn’t really interested in heeding his advice.
In an interview with Hartford, Connecticut’s HOT 93.7, 50 Cent said that Keef is making mistakes that he’d hoped he would avoid. But he can’t force the teenager to do anything.
“I actually was attracted to the Chief Keef thing. Cause I was like, ‘I can help him. I know what to do. Just do this,’ ” 50 explained. “He didn’t listen. He’s a man. So, when I talk to him, [he] don’t have to take it. I’m not his father. That’s his business. It’s certain things that I look at and go ‘If you play your hand this way, you can be good. If you go them other ways, you gon’ have a hard time.’ And them bumps in the road they’re there for you. It’s not like you exempt.”
“Chief Keef’s project is the 50 Cent project,” 50 added, comparing his early career to Keef now. “It’s the same project. In the beginning, he’s completely influenced by the environment. That’s the nightmare. He’s gonna go through what actually happened. And he’s gonna get bumped around. If you catch on and you start to actually say, ‘What’s the [roof] of the situation? I want to be at the highest point I can actually take it in this actual situation.’ And you stop being conscious of your actions and things that’s going on around you, then you can actually evolve into something significant.”
