Some rappers write about violence because it’s en vogue, but 50 Cent’s triple-platinum track “Many Men (Wish Death)” proves that the award-winning artist doesn’t just rap about what’s on trend. He raps about his real life. And that includes the near-death experience in 2000 that inspired the third single off ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin.’
From the song’s lyrics to the corresponding music video, “Many Men (Wish Death)” eludes to the harrowing moment that not only defined 50 Cent’s career but also life as he knew it.
The Real-Life Inspiration Behind 50 Cent’s “Many Men”
The introduction to 50 Cent’s “Many Men” sets the stage for the violent scene he lays out in the rest of the song. Many men wish death upon me. Blood in my eye, dog, and I can’t see. I’m tryin’ to be what I’m destined to be, and n****s tryin’ to take my life away. Critics wishing for an artist’s downfall is a common trope in rap music. But for 50 Cent, his track was anything but a literary theme.
In late May 2000, 50 Cent was visiting his grandmother’s house in the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, when an unknown assailant suddenly appeared with a 9mm handgun. The attacker shot the rapper nine times in the hand, arm, hip, legs, chest, and face. “It happens so fast that you don’t even get a chance to shoot back,” 50 Cent later told MTV (via ABC News). “You can’t move. Ain’t nobody going to tell you they ain’t scared in that situation. It’s a hit, man. You supposed to die in that situation. They’re not playing.”
Luckily, multiple life-saving surgeries saved 50 Cent from succumbing to his many injuries. He spent months recovering, after which the violent incident became a defining factor in his musical career. “To me, rappers are liars until I see that their actions coincide with what they said through the music,” he told MTV in 2003. “Me, I put my situations down, and I make fun of them. I make fun of those situations ‘cause I’m not in control…and I feel like to be upset or down about something I can’t control is just being weak and wasting energy.”
The Rapper Sent A Message To Those Trying To Hurt Him
As harrowing of an experience as the 2000 attack was for 50 Cent, “Many Men” is hardly a cowering track. The rapper directly responds to those wishing him ill will, rapping in the first verse, Now man, these p**** n****s puttin’ money on your head. Go one and get your refund, motherf*****, I ain’t dead. I’m the diamond in the dirt that ain’t been found; I’m the underground king, and I ain’t been crowned.
Theories about who might’ve attacked the rapper ran rampant following the shooting, with some claiming it had to do with the drug trade and others speculating it had to do with a belittling song 50 Cent wrote about drug kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. The “In Da Club” rapper, however, always claimed that Darryl “Hommo” Baum was the man who shot him, and he says as much in “Many Men.”
Are you illiterate, n****? You can’t read between the lines? In the Bible, it says what goes around, comes around. Hommo shot me, three weeks later, he got shot down. Now, it’s clear that I’m here for a real reason, ‘cause he got hit like I got hit, but he ain’t f***in’ breathin’. Hommo, former bodyguard to Mike Tyson, died by gunshot while walking home alone. Police determined the killing to be related to a local gang.
50 Cent’s “Many Men” Also Shows His New Perspective On Life
While “Many Men” might come across as a hard track, threatening anyone who dared try to hurt 50 Cent again, the song also reveals the gratitude the rapper felt for getting a second chance at life. Sunny days wouldn’t be special if it wasn’t for rain, he says in the second verse. Joy wouldn’t feel so good if it wasn’t for pain.
50 Cent echoed similar sentiments in his memoir From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon A Time in Southside Queens. “After I got shot nine times at close range and didn’t die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life. I have to be here for a reason. I was wondering, ‘How was this n**** standing over me this close, bangin’ off nine times and can’t finish? There was a bullet wound in my face, but it didn’t stop me or change me or nothing.”
Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock
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