Rotimi has revealed that he and 50 Cent were in cahoots together when it comes to the public shakedown the G-Unit mogul subjected him to on social media.
During a recent interview, the “Power” series star explained that the 2019 incident in which 50 Cent threatened to punch him in the face over the success of his Walk With Me EP in a series of Instagram posts was actually a calculated campaign to recoup on his investment.
“Walk with you, yeah I’m a walk with you to the bank. This s### is #1 I need to see that bag,” Fofty mocked the R&B singer in a series of Instagram posts in May 2019. “I want to punch this n###a nose Rotimi got the #1 RNB album time to pay me on gang.”
Rotimi set the record straight about what really went down behind the scenes, admitting that the entire drama was a staged publicity stunt coined by 50 Cent with the intent to boost the success of his EP after it reached No. 1 on the R&B Album Apple Music Chart.
“There is truth to the $300,000 that I did owe him,” Rotimi began, explaining that the debt stemmed from his music deal with 50 Cent.
“Anyone who has a deal knows that the label puts up money—it’s basically a loan.”
Rotimi continued, laying out the situation he was in after 50 Cent let him out of his contract, explaining that while he still owed him the sum, Fifty had agreed to be paid back through “mechanical” royalties from his music. But just as Rotimi was starting to settle into his newfound independence, 50 Cent had another plan in mind.
“He calls me one day, and he’s like, ‘Yo, I got an idea,’” Rotimi revealed. “‘I’m going to say you owe me $300,000. I’m going to say I want to punch your face in. I’m going to say I don’t f**k with you’,” he recalled Fifty telling him.
At first, Rotimi was stunned.
“I’m hearing this, and I’m like, wait, wait, wait,” he recalled.
But 50 assured him it was all part of a bigger strategy to keep his EP at number one.
“’TMZ is going to call you tomorrow. This is going to call you tomorrow, and we’re going to keep this number one,’” he recalled 50 Cent predicting before the psuedo event even played out.
And for the most part, the rapper-turned-TV-mastermind was right! The drama played out perfectly, as 50 Cent took to social media repeatedly, blasting Rotimi and making it seem like their friendship and professional relationship had soured, despite the fact they had just spoke about their plan over the phone.
“Three minutes later, ‘yeah, this muthafucka, I can’t stand this muthafucka,” Rotimi laughed, recalling how convincing 50 was in his posts.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s crazy,’” he said. “So now everybody’s calling me, blowing my phone up like, ‘Oh s##t, what did RO do? He’s going to get kicked off the show. 50 doesn’t f##k with him.’ So I’m like, ‘Oh, please, I hope this works. Making me sound crazy right now.’”
Rotimi admitted that 50’s plan worked like a charm. His record, “Love Riddim,” began to blow up with the drama only amplifying its popularity.
“All of a sudden, we start seeing that the record is going crazy,” he said said. “I’m driving around New York, and all I’m hearing is ‘I don’t say too much.’” As the song stayed at number one for two weeks, Rotimi acknowledged the genius behind 50’s unconventional approach.
“That was the brilliance of 50 Cent,” he admitted.
Though, looking back on the incident now, it’s certainly all fun and games. However, at the time it all occurred, 50 Cent appeared to become a one-man wrecking crew on social media as he relentlessly sought after numerous individuals who allegedly owed him money. In addition to Rotimi, Fifty called out Bow Wow for allegedly stealing money from him meant for strippers, in addition to other artists he was at odds with who had real debts for him.
Check out the clip from the interview above.