While gun-toting entourages are a major concern, the one disturbing question repeatedly raised is whether this feud was timed to the release of 50's Massacre. A source close to the situation dismisses such theories as ''ignorant,'' adding that the scenario is not profitable for anyone involved. ''This is an unmitigated disaster. It's not in anybody's interest to get in these beefs. Let's say [50] sold 50,000 more [than he would have]. Is 50,000 copies worth all this?'' The source claims that legal and security fees have cost Interscope some $500,000 since the shootings, and estimates that when damages are tallied, losses will be in the millions.
And what's worse than losing millions? Perhaps a lengthy bid in the big house. Beefs are increasingly putting artists on the radar of federal task forces that monitor the hip-hop world. Case in point: the perjury trial of Lil' Kim in New York federal court over a 2001 shoot-out between rival crews outside — you guessed it — Hot 97. And these probes can be costly — a source estimates that the criminal case against Irv Gotti and his label, The Inc., has cost co-owner Def Jam $20 million to $30 million in lost revenue.
And just as rap feuds have less profitable side effects than most might suspect, the media's rush to label this a new East Coast-versus-West Coast war may also prove misguided. ''I think [50 and Game] are looking to heal,'' says hip-hop activist-entrepreneur Russell Simmons. ''I've spoken to both sides, and they both said there's no retaliatory action.''
Regardless of the rappers' recent truce — they shook hands at a Harlem press conference, where they announced plans to donate money to the Boys Choir of Harlem — recent events have reopened old wounds. ''What they have learned is lip service,'' says Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother. ''What they have not learned is action to change things,'' she says, adding hopefully, ''I think the people in the rap industry and the people who listen to rap are intelligent enough to lead a fight against it and say, 'No more.'''
You Might Also Like
- Music News 50 Cent's home destroyed in ''suspicious'' fire
- Television News 50 Cent, Valderrama on MTV's new slate
- Movie News 50 Cent in talks for ''Spectacular Regret''
- Music News Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent named in steroids probe
