Get Rich Or Die Trying

Hip-Hop was set in motion in the late 1970s as an urban subculture of the African-Americans and confined to one of America’s most notorious ghettos - the South Bronx in New York City as the starting point for its development. Deeply connected to the Afro-American communities in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, and influenced by Jamaican immigrants, Hip-Hop was to be a consequence of the unique social and cultural scenario within the black neighborhoods of New York; rather than a music genre.

Not much time passed before Hip-Hop music had spread through the United States as it became popular in the 1980s, the genre evolved and came to be known worldwide crossing social barriers and cutting across racial lines, since then Hip-Hop has become “the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world” according to the U.S. Department of State. Largely created and owned by African-Americans, hip-hop music industry has transformed American society at the same time it turned into a multi-billion dollar business spanning music, film, television, books, fashion and sports, as many hip-hop stars like Sean "Diddy" Combs or Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter for example, have become music moguls themselves, owning and running huge businesses.

These circumstances suggest that Hip-Hop has become into a “culture of getting rich”. Proven example of this accusation is Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, who used to be a drug dealer selling crack in the streets as a teenager; but left drug dealing in pursue of a rap career. He became famous after the release of his album “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” in 2003, afterwards he became one of the world's highest selling rappers, just to venture in business. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson negotiated a minority stake in Vitamin Water in return for acting as a celebrity spokesman and lending his name to the Formula 50 drink. When The Coca Cola Company acquired Vitamin Water from Glaceau for $4.1bn (£2.5bn), bankers familiar with the deal said 50 Cent's profit ranged from $100m to $150m. Source: Forbes magazine.

Hip-hop went way beyond just music; it expanded into numerous other business areas, from artists seeking endorsement deals to artist mostly creating their own brands, such as “Wu Tang Clan” creating Woo Wear, and 50 Cent manufacturing his G-Unit clothing and video games. This happened because in order for hip-hop to survive long enough to make it into the mainstream, it actually had to develop a business sense, as artists had seen the potential for profit in hip-hop; rather than just a mere artistic expression of Afro-American music and culture. Has hip-hop sold out engaging in business out of the music industry? The answer of this question is to be a matter of personal point of view, but it surely has changed towards a more corporate and commercial aim.

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