"Ghetto Qur'an" is a song by

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

from his unreleased

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

debut album ''

Power of the Dollar ''Power of the Dollar'' is the unreleased debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. Originally set to be released as his major-label debut in 2000 by Columbia Records, the album's release was cancelled after Columbia discovered that 50 Cen ...

''. The song was leaked in early 2000. The song mentions drug dealers from the 1980s in his neighborhood of

South Jamaica, Queens South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been est ...

. "Ghetto Qur'an" is produced by Poke & Tone of

Trackmasters The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...

, and uses a sample from

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

' and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

's duet "

Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) "Stop, Look, Listen (to Your Heart)" is a Soul music, soul song songwriter, written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed that was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul musical ensemble, group the Stylistics. The Stylistics original version An R&B ...

Lyrics

The track's lyrics mention several characters 50 remembers from his formative years in Queens, including Kenneth McGriff and his nephew Gerald Prince Miller of the '80s drug gang Supreme Team.

Aftermath

It is rumored that the song and the subsequent music industry

blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

of 50 Cent by

Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff (born September 19, 1960) is an American convicted former drug lord and gangster from New York City. Background McGriff rose to prominence in early 1981 when he formed his own crack cocaine distributing and manufacturing ...

and his associates led to the murder of

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

Jam Master Jay Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...

. There is speculation that Jay ignored the blacklisting by mentoring the young 50 Cent and introducing him to the people in the music industry. According to an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

agent Francis Mace, law enforcement officials believed that the shooting of 50 Cent in 2000 was in retaliation for the lyrics of the song which detailed the history of The Supreme Team. "Ghetto Qur'an" served as a basis for 50 Cent's rivals (mainly

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

and the Murder Inc. music group, with whom he was feuding at the time) labeling him a

snitch Snitch may refer to: * Informant Film and television * ''Snitch'' (1998 film) or ''Monument Ave.'', an American crime drama directed by Ted Demme * ''Snitch'' (2011 film) or ''Witness Insecurity'', an American thriller starring Edward Furlong ...

. 50 Cent mentioned in an AllHipHop.com interview that the song was appreciated. He also talked about how

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

' song "

Get Down Get down is a stance, posture or movement in many traditional African cultures and throughout the African diaspora. It involves bending at the waist and knees, bringing the body low to the ground in moments of ecstasy or intensity. Bending at the ...

" from the album '' God's Son'' similarly mentions names, but few people consider anything wrong with it.Berrios, Martin A. (June 27, 2007)
Streets is Watching: 50 Cent Part Two
. ''AllHipHop''. Accessed July 6, 2007. The song was later added to his 2002

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

Guess Who's Back? ''Guess Who's Back?'' is a debut official mixtape by American rapper 50 Cent, released May 21, 2002 on independent label Full Clip Records in the United States. It is his first official release after his 2000 effort ''Power of the Dollar'' wen ...

'', titled as "Ghetto Qua ran". The chorus to this song was sampled on Proof's solo CD ''

Searching for Jerry Garcia ''Searching for Jerry Garcia'' is the second and final studio album by Detroit rapper Proof of D12, released on August 9, 2005. It was the only solo album that Proof released on a major record label before his death. The album is named after ...

'' on the song called "Forgive Me".

References

External links

50 Cent's official websiteGenius lyrics annotation of "Ghetto Qu'ran"
{{authority control 50 Cent songs 1999 songs Songs written by 50 Cent Song recordings produced by Trackmasters Songs about drugs