| Power of the Dollar | |
| Type: | studio |
| Longtype: | and EP |
| Artist: | 50 Cent |
| Cover: | Power Of The Dollar22.JPG |
| Released: | (Album) |
| Recorded: | 1998–2000 |
| Studio: | Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Guess Who's Back? |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
Power of the Dollar is the debut EP and unreleased debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. The EP version was released September 12, 2000, by Columbia Records and Trackmasters Entertainment. The album version was originally set to be released as 50 Cent's major-label debut on July 4, 2000, but he was ultimately dropped by Columbia Records after being shot nine times and the album was shelved.[1] Subsequently, the album was heavily bootlegged.[2], Columbia has no plans to release the album.
The EP features guest appearances from Destiny's Child, Noreaga, and the Madd Rapper. The album version was set to feature all the artists included on the EP as well as Bun B and Dave Hollister. The album's production was handled by Trackmasters, Red Spyda, Sha Self, DJ Scratch and Erick Sermon, among other producers.
AllMusic writes that the tracks utilize "penetrating wit and funk-infused beats, accompanied by grand orchestrations of commanding horns, pronounced percussion, and various string elements".
The album's lead single, "How to Rob", was released on August 10, 1999, and was also included on the Power of the Dollar EP and the soundtrack to the film In Too Deep. The single attracted significant controversy due to its content, which was him comically telling how he would rob several high-profile hip-hop & R&B artists.
The second single, "Thug Love" featuring Destiny's Child, was released on September 21, 1999, and was also featured on the EP release.[3] Days before 50 Cent was scheduled to film its music video, he was attacked by a gunman in the infamous shooting incident that left him with nine gunshot wounds and gave him his dimple scar; an event that 50 Cent often references in his lyrics.[4] [5] While hospitalized, he signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records; however, he was dropped from the label after it was discovered that he had been shot.[6] The track, "Ghetto Qur'an (Forgive Me)", has been speculated to be the reason for the shooting.[7]
The third and final single, "Your Life's on the Line", was released in 1999. The song was produced by Terrence Dudley, and was perceived as a diss song to Ja Rule, which would begin their highly publicized feud on records. 50 mocks Ja Rule's catchphrase "Murdaa!", on the chorus of the song, rapping "Murdaa, I don't believe you/Murdaa, Fuck around and leave you/Murdaa, I don't believe you/Murda Murda, your life's on the line". A music video for the song was shot on the streets of New York in 1998. The song was included on the Power of the Dollar EP, and would later be included on both 50 Cent's debut mixtape, Guess Who's Back?, and his officially released debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin, in 2003, as a bonus track.
Of the 19 songs featured on both the EP and album versions of Power of the Dollar, 9 have been officially released.