Juvenile Says He’s the Reason 50 Cent Got His Record Deal With Eminem: “He’ll Tell You”

Half of the music industry is all in who you know and if they can help you. You’d be surprised how much charm can open up doors for people. For 50 Cent, no one wanted to work with him early on. He made his mark by dissing any and everyone on “How to Rob.” Additionally, after getting shot nine times, no one wanted that heat at their place. The big picture looked a little grim for 50. However, apparently Juvenile was a key figure in putting all the pieces in place for 50 Cent to succeed.

Recently, Juvie spoke with Nyla Symone alongside Mannie Fresh. At one moment in the interview, he recalls how 50 couldn’t access any studios and was particularly desperate. But Juvenile had a studio implemented in his tour bus. Consequently, he let 50 and his G-Unit cohorts Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo record there. Then, Juvie tagged along with Sha Money XL, another big figure in 50 Cent’s career, to a D12 music video shoot. So he put a good word in accordingly, figuring the pairing made sense.

Juvenile Puts in a Good Word for 50 Cent and Helps Get Him His Record Deal

“When I went over there with Sha Money, my first thing was telling him the type of music Em doing and the type of music 50 doing with the diss thing […] that’s going to work if he go with him. And it worked,” Juvenile recalled. “In his book he gives me my credit. I always tell people ask 50.”

This also bridges the Young Buck connection. The Nashville rapper was initially affiliated with Cash Money before pivoting to Juvie’s UTP label in 2000. Eventually, though, Buck would feature on 50’s Get Rich or Die Trying (“Blood Hound”) and shift from Juvenile to G-Unit.