The Grammys don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to Hip Hop, but one of the Recording Academy’s biggest blunders came in 2004 when they overlooked 50 Cent for Best New Artist. The G-Unit rapper lost out to rock band Evanescene, despite dropping the biggest-selling album of 2003 with Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and emerging as one of the hottest acts in not only Hip Hop, but music as a whole.
via: Vibe
As tradition, 50 didn’t waste an opportunity to remind the Grammy’s of how they snubbed him for his massive break-out single “In Da Club” that turned into one of Hip-Hop’s biggest anthems of all time.
On Sunday (July 3), Fif took to his Instagram to share that his 2003 hit recently broke the ceiling with a whopping 1.5 billion YouTube views. He wrote, “Still no best new artist [shrug emoji] I don’t know why people always want to cheat me man. They are counting from 2009, that song came out in 2003 ?Damn it Man ! @bransoncognac @lecheminduroi“
As arguably one of the best selling rappers of the early 2000’s, the Grammys didn’t catch on to the change that Fif was bringing to the rap game back then. The Grammy’s Best New Artist category for 2004 was won by rock group Evanescence, while 50, rockers Fountains of Wayne, R&B soloist Heather Headley and Reggae artist Sean Paul lost out.
Amid Fif’s introduction to the world as a serious rapper that could actually chart high, he felt that he was snubbed by the Academy for Best New Artist. Since then, the Get Rich or Die Trying legend has made the award show feel his presence every time “In Da Club” reaches a new horizon.
In 2020, 50 took to his Instagram to speak out against the Grammy’s nominees for Best Rap Album, in which the late-rapper Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon (which reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and remained in its top 5 for 34 weeks) wasn’t nominated – Fif ironically executively produced the project.
“They out of touch this shit ain’t it, get the fuck outta here,” he wrote on Instagram in a since-deleted post, captured by HotNewHipHop.
However, 50 Cent has proven since the releasing of the smash-hit 19 years ago, that he doesn’t need any kind of accolade to validate his talent or worth. “In Da Club” is the go to hit played at almost every birthday party, and even was the track played at the time of Usher’s son’s birth.
50 Cent is doing just fine.
