Throughout 50 Cent’s career as a rapper, TV producer, actor, and business mogul, his songwriting skills were rarely used outside of his solo efforts and the music with his early 2000s rap group G-Unit. While this talent earned him huge successes such as platinum records, three No. 1 hits, and two No. 1 albums, he hardly ever contributed as a songwriter on other rappers’ or artists’ songs.
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But, that is what makes these infrequent moments even more special. Knowing 50 Cent was particular about who he lent his pen-game to, songs he helped write but did not offer vocals for are a special breed. So, here are four songs 50 Cent wrote by other artists.
“Paradise,” LL Cool J (2002)
As the fourth song on the track list for LL Cool J’s ninth studio album 10, “Paradise” featured Massachusetts-born R&B songstress Amerie. The song would peak at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and would appear on the soundtrack for 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva, starring Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good, and Duane Martin.
“Church for Thugs,” The Game (2005)
The Game’s 2005 sophomore album The Documentary is widely regarded as his magnum opus project in his career. Given a sequel a decade later (2015), The Documentary‘s eighth song “Church for Thugs” was a highlight on the track list.
50 Cent earned songwriting credits on “Church for Thugs,” along with lending feature verses for other songs on The Documentary like “Westside Story,” “Hate It or Love It,” and “How We Do.”
“Still Be Friends,” G-Eazy featuring Tyga and Tory Lanez (2020)
In February 2020, G-Eazy released his raunchy single “Still Be Friends,” which features frequent collaborators of his, Tyga, and Tory Lanez. The song received two different music videos with one being for all ages and the “XXX” version being 18+.
The song was eventually added to the deluxe version of G-Eazy’s sixth studio album These Things Happen Too in 2021. 50 Cent earned songwriting credits on “Still Be Friends” alongside 12 other co-writers.
“Got It on Me,” Pop Smoke (2020)
After the tragic death of up-and-coming New York drill rapper Pop Smoke in February 2020, 50 Cent took it upon himself to executively produce the rapper’s highly-anticipated posthumous album. Released in the summer of 2020, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon included “Got It on Me” as its seventeenth song, as Pop Smoke wrote it before his death to interpolate 50 Cent’s famous 2003 hit “Many Man (Wish Death).”
50 Cent notably mentioned how he saw a lot of himself in Pop Smoke and helped fully execute and finish the song for commercial release. He would earn songwriting credits on the track.
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