In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Curtis talks about signing DJ Pauly D, his new headphones, Street King and starting the album-format mixtape with the release of 50 Cent Is the Future.
When I put out my first mixtape, 50 Cent is the Future, it was the first tape where an artist did the entire tape in song format. It’s been 10 years since this happened for the first time. Before, a mixtape was performing with guys like Ron G, DJ Clue, Kid Capri, these different guys that you would have to go see and put 16 bars or 32 bars on an intro maybe, but not in song format.
You’d say that 50 Cent is the Future was the introduction of the album-format mixtape?
Right, exactly. It’s the standard now. I’ve had people come to me and hand me a CD, and not know that they’re handing it to me because of me. Puffy’s contribution to hip-hop culture was the remix. He offered us the music that his mom played in front of him, with newer drums and younger artists. That worked, and will consistently be there. The remix comes right after the original record, that’s something Puffy did to influence the culture. When they see a mixtape, it’s 50 Cent every time.
The rest of the interview can be read here. Also, for a preview of Fif’s upcoming (Jeremih-assisted, Mike Will-produced) single Girls Go Wild, click play on the SMS by 50 commercial up top. And don’t forget, The Big 10 drops this Friday at noon!
