50 Cent & Why Growing With Your Audience is Key

50 Cent is in the middle of his final tour, “The Last Lap.”

It’s a sprawling endeavor with over 93 dates, guest appearances, an overseas leg and much more.

Within ONE WEEK of the announcement, he sold over 840,000 tickets worldwide — a feat many artists from his era could never accomplish.

So, how did 50 do it?

Well. He did it because he’s built real equity with his fanbase. He knows them better than most artists will ever, and its afforded him success at increasing levels as the years go by.

In another life, he’d probably work in advertising because of how good he is at understanding consumers.

In a recent interview with Brian J. Roberts, he talked about how his continued relevance is fueled by a simple strategy: Growing with your audience

Look man. The reality is people get older. Tastes change. Bachelors become fathers.

If 50 Cent were the same person at 48 that he was at 23, it would be pure insanity. Knowing that, he has steadily grown with his audience by moving from music to film to spirits, etc.

Knowing how to grow with your audience is something most brands don’t even think about, but if done gracefully, it can extend the runway of their relevance for years to come.

Y’all know what’s up. Let’s talk about it…

I. KNOW WHERE YOUR CORE AUDIENCE IS… AND WHERE THEY AREN’T

In 2003, 50 Cent released his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin.”

It did insanely well — “In Da Club” was a #1 hit, and it’s easily one of the greatest (if not THE GREATEST) selling debut albums from an artist in music history. To date, it’s sold over 11 million copies, and I could be mistaken but this is the last Hip-Hop album to have gone diamond. Crazy.

But… That was 20 years ago.

Back then, 50 Cent’s audience was full of high schoolers, college kids, club-goers and young adults who were just starting their lives.

That means they were most likely childless, and frequently out and about (i.e. going to clubs, hanging out with friends, doing cool sh*t, etc.)

Back then, 50 knew where his audience was and he made music for them.

He gave them In Da Club, for the club.

He gave them Many Men for the long car ride home at night.

He gave them 21 Questions for when you went through ya girls Myspace messages and saw something you didn’t wanna see (don’t go looking for things guys, you’ll often find what you’re looking for)

The point is, 50 knew the audience and gave them content that reflected where they were in life. He was so on the nose with it that his career in music was a major success.

On the flipside… He Also Knows Where HE Isn’t Anymore

50 has a level of self-awareness that a lot of his peers lack, Instead of growing with their fanbase, they don’t mature and as a result they lose steam.

You see it happen everyday.

The greatest rapper in the world thinks their the greatest for just a smidge too long and they start looking corny.

The sound that got them hot in 2007 is the same one they use in 2023 and it doesn’t connect.

They sound dated… Quite frankly, they sound like they don’t know that they aren’t “the guy” anymore.

And the thing is, even if you’re surrounded by yes men, that should be mitigated by your ability to read the room.

50 Can Read The Room.

When it comes to his trajectory, he can keep in mind where you were when you met him, and who you are now.

Those same college kids that were getting f*cked up to “In Da Club” are likely responsible adults who barely even go out anymore, let alone to the club.

The person on the long car ride home is now in bed before 8pm so that they can make it to work on time.

The person who was having problems with their significant other back then is probably married with kids now.

Their lives are different, and the unsaid expectation is that you're life is different too.

We’ve all seen the old dude in the club.

He’s 40+ trying to mingle with a group a group of 20-somethings. It’s always a bad look.

Knowing that your audiences lives are different means you have to show up differently.

It means you have to…

II. MAKE A PIVOT

“They go to work Monday to Friday… Saturday relax, Sunday is a good time for television in the house. This is why I started to go towards the film and television direction because I realized my core audience liked the power of a story.”  - 50 Cent, Jay Shetty Podcast

After his 4th solo album “Before I Self Destruct,” 50 Cent began to make a transition.

The music industry was changing, the era of superstars in music was fading. That self-awareness allowed 50 to understand that it was time for a pivot.

Instead of focusing on music, 50 started to shift his attention on entrepreneurship and even the world of film, starring in movies like Streets of Blood.

By 2014, he executive produced his first tv show — the one that would change his career forever. It was premium cable show starring Omari Hardwick called…

POWER

Think about what 50 said about his audience…

Most of the people who listened to his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin” now spend their weekends in the house getting ready for the work week, or putting the kids to sleep.

Music, though it would always be a passion, could no longer be his main vehicle of influence.

Knowing that, he put his all into Power, and it became a hit.

Power became the best show in the history of the Starz network. And it brought an entirely new demographic of people to their channel. To date the spin-off shows are some of the most popular on the network, and every year, they report record sign-ups for their cable package.

That brings us to the last point…

III. BRIDGE THE GAP

During 50’s sit down with Brian J. Roberts, he noted something really interesting about the setlist for his last lap tour.

Not only did it include his slew of hits from over the years, but it also included the “Power” theme song Big Rich Town" which can be seen below;

Seriously.

Think it about it y’all.

When’s the last time any artist has had a tour where they were able to perform theme music from a show that they were on, and fans actually wanted to see it?

I’ll tell you… It doesn’t happen. Normally it’s corny.

But like we’ve been saying from the jump:

50. GREW. WITH. HIS. AUDIENCE.

He knows that a full length album probably wasn’t what they wanted from him at the time, but he still fed them new (and good) music where it made sense.

As a result, he was still able to lean into his first passion in a way that was authentic and weave it into his new project seamlessly.

Genius man.

LASTLY… LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BENEFITS

There are ton of benefits that come with growing with your audience.

1. Renewed & sustaining interest in your catalog and prior works:

50 is on his final tour and it’s giving people a heavy dose of nostalgia.

You know what that means?

His streams are likely going up, people are signing up to Starz to check out power, and his other business ventures (like his vodka brands) are probably experiencing a boost in sales.

2. The growth and expansion pushes (new) people down funnel

The press surrounding 50 — the new interviews, viral clips from shows, etc. all serve a purpose on top of helping sell tickets. However, it also brings people deeper into the funnel.

Those who were only aware of 50 start moving into the consideration stage.

Those at the consideration stage are slowly gearing towards an action.

And all of it happens because the audience has to something to look forward to and look back at.

EPILOGUE

Man.

We could talk about this all day. 50’s a genius and his impact on the game can’t be overstated.

If you’re working to build something, pay attention to what’s going on in your world and who’s engaging in your work. Ask yourself where they’ll be in 20 years.

Maybe you can build an offering that serves them. Maybe you can’t.

Either way, take a look at what 50 is doing and give it a shot.

It could be the key to making your second act just as strong as your first one.

Peace.