"Wanksta" is a song by American rapper

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 ...

, released on November 5, 2002, as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the soundtrack to the film '' 8 Mile'' (2002). The single, produced by

Sha Money XL Sha or SHA may refer to: Places * Sha County, Fujian, China * Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, (IATA code) * Sia, Cyprus, also spelled ''Sha'' * Sagamihara Housing Area, an army installation in Japan * Vehicle registration plates in t ...

and John "J-Praize" Freeman, reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song originally appeared on 50 Cent's mixtape ''

No Mercy, No Fear ''No Mercy, No Fear'' is the second mixtape by hip hop group G-Unit. It was recorded after de facto leader 50 Cent had signed a $1 million deal with Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records following the release of his 2002 compilation album ''Gu ...

'', released in August 2002.

Background

"Wanksta" was 50 Cent's first single to chart after signing up with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's &

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

's labels,

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's ''The Slim Shady LP'' (1999). Shady has seen negative times when being part of the unsuccessful ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, An ...

, as well as his first single since 1999's Thug Love. Originally appearing on his 2002 mixtape ''

'', it received a lot of airplay, and was eventually added to the 8 Mile soundtrack. It was a bonus track (track 17) on his 2003 commercial debut album ''

Get Rich or Die Tryin' ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Eminem's Shady Records, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing wi ...

''. Eminem also made a remix, in 2003, aimed at

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 ...

and tweaked the beat to sound high pitched. The song appeared on the CD single box set '' The Singles''. The instrumental for the song was used for "Crackin", a song by The

Psychopathic Rydas Psychopathic Rydas was an American hip hop group based in Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1999 as a side project of Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid, the group consisted of Psychopathic Records-associated rappers performing under alternate stage na ...

, in 2004. It was also used for "The Real Wanksta" by

Black Child Ramel Leroy Gill, (born October 18, 1973) better known by his stage name Black Child, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his time being signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records and being affiliated with Irv Gotti, ...

, in 2002, who is signed to The Inc. and was beefing with 50 because he was affiliated with Ja Rule. R&B girl group

Blaque Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album ''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's d ...

recorded an answer song entitled "No Ganksta" in 2003. 50 cent opens the song with the lyrics "I got a lot of livin' to do before I die and I ain't got no time to waste...let's make it" which he took from the intro to

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

's 1968 recording of " Do What You Gotta Do."

Etymology

The title is generally accepted as a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words50 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 ...

has explicitly stated that the word is not related to "

wanker Wanker is slang for "one who wanks (masturbates)", but is most often used as a general insult. It is a pejorative term of English origin common in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world (mainly Commonwealth nations), including ...

Jake Arnott: And another claim to fame: you introduced the word 'wanksta' into the language with your track 'Wanksta'. That word sort of means something in England — does it mean the same in America? 50 Cent: Nah, nah! 'Wanksta's like... we use that terminology to mean a fake gangster. When people told me about the word 'wanker'...

The song's lyrics were believed to be directed towards long time nemesis

, but

disputed this himself in a

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

interview, stating that while the song itself was not directed at Ja Rule, he was a good example of a wanksta.Unknown author. (February 11, 2003
"Fifty Cent: Ja Rule is a Wanksta"
MuchMusic. Accessed August 1, 2007.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2002 songs 2002 singles 50 Cent songs Songs written by 50 Cent Music videos directed by Jessy Terrero Shady Records singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Diss tracks