''The Big 10'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

. It was released on December 9, 2011 via his community website
ThisIs50
' as a free download."50 Cent Presents The Big 10 + New G-Unit Artist"
. ThisIs50. Retrieved January 12, 2012.

Background

On December 7, 2011, it was announced that 50 Cent was to release new material over his community website. On the same day he also made known to have signed a new artist to

G-Unit Records G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2002 by rapper 50 Cent, for the first eleven years of operation, G-Unit ran in conjunction with, and was distributed by, Interscope Records. In February 2014, ...

: Paris. The rapper stated that it was more of an LP than a mixtape, because it has all new material on there. He also stated that on this mixtape, he had "pressed the restart button".

Promotion

Singles

On December 20, 2011, "Wait Until Tonight" was released to the iTunes Store, preceding 50 Cent performance on

the X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

Season 1 Finale. The song did not enter the charts. Before being released as a single, " I Just Wanna" featuring

Tony Yayo Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debu ...

, peaked at number 61 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The song was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

for purchase as digital single on March 26, 2012.

Videos

On November 27, 2011, 50 Cent confirmed via his official

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account that every song on ''The Big 10'' would be accompanied by a video, tweeting "I'm shooting videos for every song on the tape". The first video released was the one for "Queens, NY", on December 9, 2011, featuring the newly signed Paris and cameos from other G-Unit artists such as Tony Yayo. The second offering was the video for "I Just Wanna" featuring Tony Yayo, being released on December 12, 2011. The third one was the video for "Wait Until Tonight", which was released on December 14, 2011. "Off & On" was the fourth song to receive visual treatment, being released on December 16, 2011. The video is restricted for viewers over 18 years old. After a short break, 50 released on December 27, 2011, the video for the Jahlil Beats-produced "Put Ya Hands Up", featuring a broad array of video vixens. Despite contradicting his early comments, "Nah Nah Nah" featuring Tony Yayo was the last video released by 50 Cent from ''The Big 10''. It was released on December 28, 2011, and shows Curtis going undercover as an overweight assassin, hunting down two of his victims with a gun and taking a knife to another one before stripping off his disguise. On February 14, 2012, the video for "Shooting Guns" was released. It features Kidd Kidd, performing with 50 between guns and blood."Niggas Be Schemin'" video was released on May 16.

Track listing

;Sample credits Page 8"">"50 Cent's Sample-Based Music > Page 8"
WhoSampled. Retrieved January 12, 2012. * "Body on It" samples "

Risin' to the Top "Risin' to the Top" is a song by former Five Stairsteps member Keni Burke. Released in 1982 from the ''Changes'' album, it became his most successful hit as a solo artist, peaking at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' R&B charts'' and is considered ...

" by

Keni Burke Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps. Biography Five Stairsteps As a member ...

and dialogue extracted from ''Queens Shooting Suspect Struck Twice in 20 Minutes'', a report made by TV channel

NY1 NY1 (also officially known as Spectrum News NY1 and spoken as New York One) is an American cable news television channel founded by Time Warner Cable, which itself is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition in May 2016. The channe ...

. * "Niggas Be Schemin'" samples "Many Men (Wish Death)" by 50 Cent. * "I Just Wanna" samples "That's the Way (I Like It)" by

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", " I'm Your Boogie Man", ...

. * "Put Your Hands Up" samples "

Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" is a hip hop song recorded by American rapper Busta Rhymes. The single serves as the lead single from his second studio album ''When Disaster Strikes'' (1997) and its music video is notable for its homage ...

" by

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. * "Wait Until Tonight" samples "

If You Think You're Lonely Now "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a song recorded and released by American soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack in 1981 from his album '' The Poet''. It was initially released as the b-side to his song "Secrets" but proved to be the more popular ...

" by

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

. * "Off & On" samples "It Ain't Easy" by

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

and "On and On" by

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

. * "Stop Cryin'" samples "

Long Red "Long Red" is a song recorded by Leslie West for his first solo album ''Mountain'' (1969). He performed it with his band Mountain at Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held dur ...

" by

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

, "

La Di Da Di "La Di Da Di" is a song performed by Doug E. Fresh, who provides the beatboxed instrumental, and MC Ricky D (later known as Slick Rick), who performs the vocals. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to " The Show". The song has since ...

" by

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

and

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

and "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)" by

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big 10, The 2011 mixtape albums 50 Cent albums Albums produced by DJ Khalil Albums produced by Jake One Albums produced by Scoop DeVille Albums produced by Jahlil Beats