Is rapper 50 Cent encouraging violence?

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, is a New York rapper who has gained fame, acclaim, and infamy for his rap music after bursting onto the scene in 2003 with “Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a multi-platinum album. Now 50 Cent and Universal Music Group are facing a lawsuit by James Rosemond, a 14-year-old boy, who claims that they are directly responsible for an assault by friends of the rapper. Apparently four men, including rappers Tony Yayo and his employee Lowell Fletcher assaulted the youth because he was wearing a t-shirt feature “The Game,” a rapper 50 Cent was feuding with. What is wrong with this world?

Tony Yayo (real name Marvin Bernard) was sentenced to ten days of criminal service after pleading guilty to harassment. The other man, Lowell Fletcher, was sentenced to 9 months in jail for endangering the welfare of a child. We wouldn’t be surprised if it there was some sort of plea deal and behind-doors bargaining involved, as Tony Yayo is a fairly successful rapper and Lowell Fletcher only his employee (who incidentally received the harsher punishment).

50 Cent, Violater Management, Violator’s CEO Chris Lighty, Tony Yayo and Lowell Fletcher were all named in the lawsuit. The suit states that “the members of G-Unit, including defendants Yayo and 50 Cent, encouraged, sanctioned, approved and condoned its members threatening violence, and or engaging in violent acts in furtherance of its business,” and that the attack was intended to “promote and maintain Yayo and 50 Cent’s ‘gangsta’ image,” which was “promoted, marketed and advertised” by Universal Records.

50 Cent, according to Wikipedia, has been shot nine times, started dealing drugs before he was even a teenager, and grew up without a father (his mother was murdered when he was eight). So this lawsuit probably isn’t the toughest thing he’s had to deal with in his life. We’ll see how this pans out.

[Reuters]

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