50 Cent: Influences

50 Cent emerged from the New York rap scene in the early ’00s as an eager antagonist and visceral storyteller. His haunting soundscapes, teeming with strings and horns, were often crafted by Dr. Dre, but also reflect the work of Mobb Deep’s Havoc. And though his boastful rhymes are reminiscent of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., 50’s ultimately a rapper from Queens who pulled his boom-bap-stacked narratives from local heroes MC Shan and Run-DMC.