''Power of the Dollar'' is the unreleased debut studio album 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 ...

. Originally set to be released as his major-label debut in 2000 by

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 ...

, the album's release was cancelled after Columbia discovered that 50 Cent was struck by nine bullets in a shooting that took place two months before the album was set to release. After the shooting, Columbia dropped 50 Cent from the label. Subsequently, the album was heavily bootlegged. , Columbia has no plans to release the album. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

Noreaga Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names Noreaga and later N.O.R.E., is an American rapper. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop d ...

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American R&B singer who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B quartet Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his 2000 gold-certifie ...

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with ...

and

the Madd Rapper Deric Michael Angelettie (born July 31, 1968), otherwise known as D-Dot, Papa Dot, and Madd Rapper, is an American artist, music producer, songwriter, TV & film producer and entrepreneur. He is the winner of The Grammy's NARAS Governor's New Ho ...

. The album's production was handled by

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 ...

Red Spyda Andy "Red Spyda" Thelusma is an American hip hop producer who has worked on many songs for artists including 50 Cent, D-Block, Mobb Deep, Amerie, D12, and G-Unit. Other notable works by Red Spyda have included his contributions to the in-game ...

, Sha Self,

DJ Scratch George Spivey (born June 21, 1968), known professionally as DJ Scratch, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn, New York. DJ Scratch is the 1988 New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy DJ champion, the 2010 Master of the ...

and

Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper, musician, and record producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Career Sermon started profe ...

, among other producers.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writes that the tracks utilize "penetrating wit and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

-infused beats, accompanied by grand orchestrations of commanding horns, pronounced percussion, and various string elements".

Singles

The album's lead single, "

How to Rob "How to Rob" is a song by American hip hop recording artist 50 Cent, released as his commercial debut single by Columbia Records. The song serves as the lead single from his intended debut studio album ''Power of the Dollar'', which was ultimate ...

", was released on August 10, 1999, and was also included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film '' In Too Deep''. The single attracted significant controversy due to its content, which was him comically telling how he would rob several high-profile hip-hop & R&B artists. The second single, " Thug Love" featuring

, was released on September 21, 1999. Days before 50 Cent was scheduled to film its music video, he was attacked by a gunman in the infamous shooting incident that left him with nine gunshot wounds and gave him his dimple scar; an event that 50 Cent often references in his lyrics.Ninja (December 2002)
50 Cent Interview
Dubcnn. Accessed May 21, 2008. While hospitalized, he signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records; however, he was dropped from the label after it was discovered that he had been shot. The track, "

Ghetto Qur'an (Forgive Me) "Ghetto Qur'an" is a song by 50 Cent from his unreleased Columbia Records debut album ''Power of the Dollar''. The song was leaked in early 2000. The song mentions drug dealers from the 1980s in his neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens. "Ghetto ...

", has been speculated to be the reason for the shooting.Surveilling 50 Cent
. The Smoking Gun (September 6, 2005). Accessed May 21, 2008. In 2003 50 Cents mixtape 24 shots was released, which includes 8 tracks from the Power of the Dollar LP. The third and final single, " Your Life's on the Line", was released in 1999. The song was produced by Terrence Dudley, and was perceived as a diss song to

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 ...

, which would begin their highly publicized feud on records. 50 mocks Ja Rule's catchphrase "Murdaa!", on the chorus of the song, rapping "Murdaa, I don't believe you/Murdaa, Fuck around and leave you/Murdaa, I don't believe you/Murda Murda, your life's on the line". A music video for this song was released, which was also the only song with a music video of the whole album. The song would later be included as a bonus track on 50's officially released debut album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums 50 Cent albums Unreleased albums Albums produced by DJ Scratch Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Erick Sermon Albums produced by Rashad Smith Albums produced by Trackmasters