Screen King Immortal: 10 Times 50 Cent Was Name-Dropped In Film & TV

For a while there, in the mid-2000s, 50 Cent was the most visible hip hop star in the country. To this day, he's the only rapper that my 86-year-old grandma can name. Such was his prominence that if you were writing a script for a television show or movie and needed shorthand for "a gangster rapper who everyone knows," odds are you'd pick him. Perfectly fitting the bill for the street-affiliated, unfuckwithable image popularized by '90s legends Tupac and Biggie, Fif also had a dash of showmanship that made him a little less intimidating to the general public. 

Taraji P. Henson's use of his name on this week's season premiere of "Empire" was certainly a little more nuanced and clever than your average Curtis Jackson reference, specifically citing his habit of using petty tactics to market his various entrepreneurial ventures (his competing show "Power," in this case). More often than not though, the Get Rich Or Die Trying star's name seemed to pop up in film and TV as the answer to a Mad Libs-style "insert rapper here" spot in the script. 

Here are ten times we've heard Fif's name called out onscreen (appearances and cameos by the man himself aren't included here-- that's a list for another time). Some are much lamer than others, most occurred during his early-to-mid-2000s heyday, and many are surprising. 

Date: April 9, 2003

Quote: 

Chappelle: “The hell you listening to?”

White kid: “New 50 Cent. I’m from then streets, man. G-G-G-G-G-G-Unit!”

Chappelle: “C’mon, get in the car! G-G-G-G-G-Get your ass in the car!"

This came during a "Trading Spouses" sketch in which black and white families swapped fathers. Dave Chappelle played both patriarchs, and in this instance, his black character taught the white kid a lesson when he tried to act hard by listening to America's favorite gangster rapper at the time. A trip to the actual streets soon followed. As usual, Chappelle showed that he knew more about hip-hop than his competitors. 

Saturday Night Live

Date: October 11, 2003

Quote:

"Whoa. 50 Cent you just got Punk'd! You didn't know you were going to kill somebody, and Dax didn't know he was going to get killed! Double Punk'd! I am so awesome!”

Before 50 Cent showed up on SNL as a musical guest, he was portrayed by a cast member in a sketch that riffed on Ashton Kutcher's then-popular MTV show "Punk'd." Host Justin Timberlake hilariously played Kutcher, who pranked fake versions of Fred Durst, Christina Aguilera and Fif. Basically, Kutcher had his friend Dax dress up as a vampire and hide in 50's bathroom, and when he jumped out to scare the rapper, he was shot, effectively "punking" both of them.

Date: November 4, 2003

Quote: 

"Okay readers, today we're having a little pop quiz, it's multiple choice, so sharpen your number 2 pencils and put your thinking caps on. Ready? Here's a quote: 'Dad, you're an idiot.' Now, contestants, this was said to me because of which of the following transgressions? A: Coming to the breakfast table wearing pajamas and black socks? B: Asking my oldest daughter if that guy I saw her talking to yesterday at school was her boyfriend? C: Referring to rapper Fiddy Cent as 'Fifty Cents'? or D: Entering the room? Okay, pencils down. Actually it was a trick question. The answer is all of the above."

This is pretty indicative of the way 50 was portrayed in non-rap-related media back then. A parent tries to stay hip with his kids, and ends up mispronouncing the name of the coolest contemporary rapper-- in 2003's case, 50 Cent.

Date: December 4, 2004

Quote:

"Her with the tattoo, you with the wristband, that's like the ultimate wrong-side-of-the-tracks love story. Seriously, you are the Sid to her Nancy, the Kurt to her Courtney, the 50 Cent to her... Mrs Cent."

When comparing his friend's volatile relationship to famous trainwreck couples throughout music history, geeky Seth Cohen struggles to stay relevant to the times by including recently-shot 50 on his list. Although the show was mostly known for its connection to indie rock, T.I. ended up performing on a later episode. 

Date: April 14, 2006

Quote:

Brenda Meeks: "Pussy."

Cindy Campbell: "Brenda!"

Brenda Meeks: "What? 50 Cent got shot nine times and he's still walking around!"

Yet another time that 50 was name-dropped due to the notoriety of his backstory, not his actual music. Similarly to the way that people verb Tupac's name to stand in for getting shot in a drive-by (like Pusha T's "Can't let niggas roll up beside me, and 2Pac me"), Fif's name became synonymous with "bulletproof."

Date: July 3, 2007

Quote: 

"What was that? You eyeballing my piece, 50 Cent? You wanna go? Make something happen, do it."

In the blockbuster film, an asshole cop harasses Shia Labeouf with the above line, letting 50's name again fill the "rapper who is known to have a criminal past" blank in Michael Bay's script. Why can't screenwriters show DMX some love in spots like this?

Date: April 13, 2012

Quote: 

"Winston Churchill, St. Augustine, Floyd Mayweather, 50 Cent, Jack Nicholson, Barack Obama, and my cousin Taylor were all bastards, and they turned out just fine. Women carry the baby, they birth the baby, they feed the baby. Fathers are totally antiquated.”

This film (starring "Breaking Bad"'s Krysten Ritter) centers on the struggle to maintain a normal life after becoming a single mother, and the quote above finds Ritter defending fatherless children. This time around, 50's actually big-upped by being mentioned alongside some legendary names. 

Date: March 13, 2014

Quote:

"Give it to me, Vinnie. Or I'll tell 50 Cent's security team where they can find the guy who posted video of 50 baking lemon cakes while singing 'Afternoon Delight.'”

Probably the best of all these lines, this quip comes from stealth photographer Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) in the full-length film follow-up to the TV show of the same name. In this scene, she's threatening to blackmail another paparazzo by naming him as the source of a scandal (which was obviously just made up for the movie). I wonder if 50's ever seen this...

Date: October 14, 2014

Quote:

"Hello there culture lovers. Today we take a look at the modern day poet from Michigan named Marshall Matters the third, better known as Eminem. Here is one entitled Superman. They call me Superman. Leap tall Superman ain't saving whoa! Ooh. Okay that is all for today. Next week, the complete works of Mr. 50 Cents.”

This is an odd one. Most likely 50's first and only name-drop in a program aimed at children, this one appeared in a short film starring classic cartoon heroes Rocky and Bullwinkle, which aired before the kids film "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" in theaters. Don't ask me the context or what it means. 

Date: September 23, 2015

Quote:

"50 Cent's still taking jabs at us. Look what he put on the 'Gram-- thirsty ass."

The only real diss of 50 on this list, Cookie's line from earlier this week offered a bit of meta-commentary on "Empire"'s continued competition with "Power," a show 50 produces. Similarly to his ongoing war with Diddy over their respective vodka brands, 50 uses Instagram as a canvas for "Empire" disses. It's funny how things have turned out: 50, once name-dropped solely for his relevance and gangster image, is now being singled out for his petty marketing strategies. How the times have changed.