1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: Please check the show notes for more information. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 2: story about power, about a stick up kid who became 5 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 2: a king and a crime kingpin who wanted to stay 6 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 2: in the game. It's a story about music moguls who 7 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 2: wanted to be gangsters and gangsters who wanted to be 8 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 2: music moguls. About reputations in the street and assumed identities 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 2: on the stage, about mixtapes, attempted murder, and four FBI 10 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 2: raids in one day. This is a story about Kenneth 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 2: Supreme McGriff, the Lorenzo Brothers, jah Ruhle, and most importantly, 12 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 2: Curtis Jackson aka fifty Cent. It's a story about great music, 13 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:01,639 Speaker 2: like that clip I played for you at the top 14 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 2: of the show that wasn't great music. That was a 15 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 2: preset loop for my melotron called gold Chain Cha Cha 16 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 2: MK one. I played you that loop because I can't 17 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,320 Speaker 2: afford the rights to Lose yourself by eminem But why 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,040 Speaker 2: would I play you that specific slice of Moms spaghetti Cheese? 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: Could I afford it? 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 2: Because that was the number one song in America on 21 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 2: January third, two thousand and three, and that was the 22 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 2: day the federal agents raided the offices of Murder Inc. 23 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 2: Records looking for dirty Money. Four days before, the hip 24 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 2: hop label's main adversary, fifty Cent, released a single in 25 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 2: the Club, which would become the biggest song of the year. 26 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 2: On this episode raids, stick Up Kids, Crime, Kingpins, Music Moguls, 27 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: Mixtape Wars, Attempted Murder, and Part two of our story 28 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 2: on fifty Cent. I'm Jake Brennan and this this Disgraceland. 29 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 2: If you happen to have a copy of Eric being 30 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 2: Rakim's classic nineteen eighty seven debut album Paid in Full, 31 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,920 Speaker 2: go grab it and turn it over. There on the 32 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 2: back cover you'll see a small picture of nine guys 33 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 2: posing outside the Jacob Javit Center in the Hell's Kitchen 34 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 2: neighborhood of Manhattan. There's Eric B with the giant gold 35 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 2: medallion hanging from his neck, and there's Rakim aka the 36 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 2: God MC and yeah, I know it's crazy, he's actually smiling. 37 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 2: And then there's the rest of their crew, real guys, 38 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 2: a mixture of rappers, hustlers and stickup men, including the 39 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 2: kid crouched in the bottom right hand corner with the 40 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 2: red Adida's hat and the thick gold rope chain. If 41 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 2: you know anything about hip hop, especially the foundational years 42 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 2: of the nineteen eighties, that chain will look awfully familiar 43 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 2: to you. 44 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: But more on that in a minute. 45 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 2: This kid with the Adida's hat and the gold rope chain, 46 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 2: they all called him fifty cent, But he's not the 47 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 2: fifty cent you're thinking of. That is not Curtis Jackson, 48 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 2: who was just twelve years old when Peydon Full, this 49 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 2: record that we're talking about with the photo on the 50 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 2: back was released. Incidentally, it was the first record that 51 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 2: he ever bought. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This 52 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 2: fifty cent, the og fifty cent. The dude on the 53 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 2: back of Peyden Full was a guy named Kelvin Martin, who, 54 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 2: despite his vertically challenged five foot two frame, was at 55 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 2: the time one of the most prolific and feared stick. 56 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: Up men in Brooklyn. 57 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 2: It didn't matter if you were John Dillinger or Billy 58 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: the Kid or Tony fucking Montana, if you were a pimp, 59 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 2: a dealer, a doper a rapper, you could be he 60 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: has sworn enemy or his good friend if you saw 61 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 2: fifty coming, you crossed the street because chances were you 62 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 2: were gonna get robbed. And that's if you were lucky. 63 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 2: With a three fifty seven magnum in one hand and 64 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 2: a cold forty five in the other. Fifties reputation preceded him. 65 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 2: He had no fear, no regrets, and at only twenty 66 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 2: three years old, he lived by a code that protected 67 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 2: himself above everything and everyone else. Some said he shot 68 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 2: down some of Brooklyn's biggest hustlers and a hail of 69 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 2: bullets like a Western gunslinger of old, just to make 70 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 2: sure that reputation of his was kept spit shined in 71 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 2: air tight. Some even said that he stole the gold 72 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 2: rope chain right off of LLL Coolj's neck, LLL's iconic chain, 73 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 2: and that LLL was relieved of said chain by the 74 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 2: persuasive force of fifties twin long barreled revolvers. Whether or 75 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 2: not that particular story is true, it's hard to say. 76 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 2: LLL COOLJ, for one, had his own reputation to maintain. 77 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 2: Ll was hard as hell, so ll wasn't saying shit. 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 2: But plenty of others saw fifty cent again, the original 79 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 2: fifty cent pull a piece and lived to tell. On 80 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 2: one particular afternoon, every liquor store owner on a long 81 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 2: stretch of Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn heard the front door 82 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 2: of the shop open in the jingle of that little 83 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 2: bell go dangling, and looked up from behind the counter 84 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 2: to see not a customer but this short stack of 85 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 2: menace cocking one pistol and then another, and then that face, 86 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 2: not Fifty's actual face, but the face of the Halloween 87 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 2: masks that fifty was wearing, the count from Sesame Street, 88 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 2: or maybe it was a Rich Nixon mask or something 89 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 2: like that. And by that time the store owner was 90 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 2: way ahead of them, popping open the registered drawer and 91 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 2: hand in the mass neighborhood menace all of his cash 92 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 2: but fifty cents exploits, his crimes, his unwavering code in 93 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 2: which he got rich or died trying again. I'm still 94 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 2: talking about the original fifty cent. It made him a 95 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 2: lot of enemies. It all came to an inevitable end 96 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 2: in October of nineteen eighty seven, just months after Payden 97 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 2: full hit the shelves. This time the barrel was aimed 98 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: at fifty cent, multiple shots fired, one to the back 99 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 2: of his head, the plume of gun smoke, the scattershot 100 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,359 Speaker 2: rhythm of sneakers tearing astown several flights of stairs, and 101 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 2: then hitting the pavement and fading into the night. They 102 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 2: found fifty cent bleeding out on the seventh floor stairwell 103 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 2: in an Albany Projects building in Brooklyn. He was rushed 104 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 2: to the hospital and then moved to the ICU. Four 105 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 2: days later, he was dead. Word of Fifty's death rippled 106 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 2: through the streets of Brooklyn, through every liquor store that 107 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 2: he ever held up, and to the ears of every person. 108 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: He ever double crossed. 109 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 2: But by the time that word spread one borrow over 110 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,159 Speaker 2: to Queen's, the streets were reckoning with even bigger news. 111 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 2: Kenneth Supreme McGriff was being released from prison and coming 112 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 2: home after serving eight years of a twelve year sentence. Preme, 113 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 2: as he was better known, was a ruthless gangster and 114 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 2: the leader of the Supreme Team, a notorious criminal organization 115 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:21,559 Speaker 2: and crack cocaine distributor based in Queen's. Unlike the last 116 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 2: time Pream got out of the joint, this time was 117 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 2: going to be different. At least that's what was believed 118 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 2: to be true by the FEDS, who are continuing to 119 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 2: monitor Prem's every move. It was suspected that Supreme had 120 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 2: entered the increasingly lucrative world of hip hop by striking 121 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 2: up a relationship with a brand new record label, and 122 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 2: that he was using that label to launder. 123 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: His drug money. 124 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 2: Murder Incorporated Records was named after the cold blooded triggerman 125 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 2: of the Syndicate, the infamous organized crime group from the 126 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 2: mid twentieth century, the one we're talking about here in 127 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 2: Queen's was founded by the Lorenzo brothers, Chris and Irv. 128 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 2: Though they wanted to be known around town, Chris and 129 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 2: IRV Gotti, a nickname bestowed upon them by none other 130 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 2: than Jay Z. So here's a record label whose very name, 131 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 2: as well as the nicknames of its owners, gave a 132 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 2: wink in a nod to gangsters both passed and present. 133 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 2: And again this is alleged by the Feds. They were 134 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 2: being bankrolled by the deep, dirty pockets of the Queen's 135 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 2: drug lord Kenneth Supreme McGriff. Little future IRV Goddis growing 136 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 2: up in Queen's growing up in the shadow of the 137 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 2: supposed Preme and Lorenzo partnership, were inspired by the sheer 138 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 2: magnitude of this new endeavor by a record label that 139 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 2: wanted to be bigger than the streets, like the rapper 140 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 2: joh Ruhle, who was one of Murder Inc's first and 141 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 2: brightest stars. But not every kid in the city looked 142 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,839 Speaker 2: up to the Lorenzo's and to prem with that kind 143 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 2: of awe. One such outlier was Queen's native Curtis Jackson. 144 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,319 Speaker 2: When it came time for Curtis to level up from 145 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,079 Speaker 2: hustling on the streets to hustling on the airwaves, he 146 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:01,439 Speaker 2: did so not by ligning himself with the likes of 147 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 2: Murder Inc. The Lorenzo's Pream, and even Sean Puffy Combs. 148 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 2: In the eyes of Curtis Jackson, these guys didn't represent 149 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 2: what was real. They weren't the streets. They repped that 150 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 2: Hubris life. They were all corporate bullshit, so far removed 151 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 2: from the streets that they may as well have been 152 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:26,479 Speaker 2: living in a castle in the sky. Curtis was the opposite. 153 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 2: He was the fly in the ointment, the nail and 154 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 2: the tire, the stick up kid fucking up your corporate machinations. 155 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 2: When it came time to assemble a crew, he called 156 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 2: it g unit, not g as in gangster, but as 157 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 2: in gorilla, as in a scrappy, independent group that battled 158 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: much larger, stronger forces. And when it came time to 159 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,680 Speaker 2: take a stage name, Curtis Jackson didn't look to the 160 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 2: Gambino family for inspiration, as Chris and herv Lorenzo did. Instead, 161 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 2: Curtis Jackson took up the mantle of the city's ultimate 162 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 2: stick up kid. For his first commercial single, how to Rob, 163 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 2: released on Columbia Records in nineteen ninety nine, Curtis Jackson, 164 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 2: now fifty cent, gave a wink in a nod to 165 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 2: his new name in his place in the hip hop hierarchy. See. 166 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 2: The single was included on the soundtrack of the film 167 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 2: Into Deep, which starred none other than LLL Cooljay himself, 168 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:22,599 Speaker 2: long since rumored to be one of the victims of 169 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 2: the og. Fifty in LL's face was featured on the 170 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 2: singles artwork. 171 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: It was genius. 172 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 2: Unlike the late Kevin Martin the original fifty cent, the 173 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 2: new fifty cent had no beef with LL coolj. His 174 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 2: beef was with these new corporate gangsters, the Lorenzos, the Preams, 175 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,599 Speaker 2: and the Puffies. Mostly for the little guy with the 176 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 2: rough voice that was now putting Murder Inc On the map. 177 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 2: It all began with a stick up. One of Curtis 178 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 2: Jackson's now fifty cents friends flashed his piece and told 179 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 2: Joe Rule to fork over his chain. Joh got this 180 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 2: rumble deep down in his gut, a feeling that fell 181 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 2: somewhere between embarrassed and insulted. 182 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,559 Speaker 1: What the hell was he going to do? He slowly 183 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: peeled the chain. 184 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 2: From around his neck and handed it over. The Next 185 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: time he saw fifty, Joe gave him all kinds of shit. 186 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: The fuck fifty thought he didn't rob jow It didn't matter. 187 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,200 Speaker 2: It was fifty's guy who did it, so it might 188 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 2: as well have been fifty himself. Fifty tried the water 189 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 2: under the bridge thing, but John didn't see a bridge, 190 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 2: he saw wall. And then he started talking shit to 191 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 2: anyone who would listen, and the gist was always the same. 192 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 2: Fifty cent was a fake rapper. This is when fifty 193 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:11,559 Speaker 2: was on the come up, when he was trying to 194 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 2: establish himself. He couldn't be derailed by some wanna be 195 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,439 Speaker 2: gangster running his mouth. 196 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: But if Jow Rule wanted to. 197 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 2: Fight, then a fight was what fifty cent was going 198 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 2: to give him some say the fifty cent didn't fight fair, 199 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 2: but fairness had nothing to do with it. Fifty cents 200 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 2: played by the rules of a dead man. March twenty fourth, 201 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 2: two thousand, Midtown, Manhattan. The small studio inside the Hit 202 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 2: Factory was loud as hell. Fifty was rhythmically bobbing his 203 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 2: head up and down, lost in the music and letting 204 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 2: the deep bass of this. 205 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:48,560 Speaker 1: Track wash over him. 206 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 2: He worked out a verse in his head, the rhymes 207 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,959 Speaker 2: coalescing into that trademark smooth casual flow. A small but 208 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 2: mighty crew looked on a couple of dudes sitting on 209 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 2: the couch, heads not in sync, and an engineer working 210 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 2: the board. The track ended, and fifty cent told the 211 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 2: engineer to rewind it and started from the top again, 212 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 2: but this time hit recording fifty was ready. He stepped 213 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 2: up to the mic and began to rap his verse 214 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 2: while the music played. His debut album for Columbia, Power 215 00:13:18,559 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 2: of the Dollar, was scheduled for release in four months 216 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: in July, but fifty was already thinking three steps ahead. 217 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 2: You had to be prepared if you wanted to blow 218 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 2: up without selling out. Take that wrap money don't shake 219 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 2: hands with it. The song how to Rob, in particular, 220 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 2: was all the rage, with emphasis on the word rage. 221 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 2: It was supposed to be a joke, a piece of 222 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 2: cutting satire, but more than a few of the forty 223 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 2: or so famous rappers and singers, the fifty cent fantasized 224 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 2: about taking for all they were worth in his lyrics, 225 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 2: they weren't laughing, No one could take a joke. Jo 226 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 2: Rule wasn't included in that song, but fifty cent made 227 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,200 Speaker 2: sure the murder Ink Star didn't feel left out. The 228 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 2: string of diss tracks that fifty was releasing straight to 229 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 2: the streets in advance of his major label debut put 230 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 2: jaw Rule in the crosshairs, and then fifty cent took 231 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,679 Speaker 2: aim with the guy that the FBI and the NYPD 232 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 2: thought was really in control of. Murder Inks Perse Strings, 233 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 2: one of the songs from Fifty's upcoming Power of the 234 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,400 Speaker 2: Dollar album, Ghetto Kuran, leaked and soon it could be 235 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 2: heard pouring from speakers throughout the Five Burroughs. The track 236 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: aired the Dirty Laundry of the Supreme Team and of 237 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,840 Speaker 2: Kenneth Prema m griff and this was something that you 238 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 2: just didn't do. The door to the small hit factory. 239 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 2: Studio flew open, and three men walked inside, jaw Rule, Chris, 240 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 2: Lorenzo and another murder ink rapper, Ramel Gill aka Black Child. 241 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: They weren't there to check out the new ship fifty 242 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 2: was working on. Fifty stopped rapping right away and took 243 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 2: a step back as the uninvited visitors came out him fast. 244 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 2: If only he had some of that Kelvin Martin hardware 245 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 2: on him. Someone hit the lights and the whole room 246 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 2: descended into chaos. Fifties boys were up off the couch, 247 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 2: up from the engineer's chair, jumping into the fray. Fists 248 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 2: swung in the darkness. Lorenzo or Jos Someone was coming 249 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 2: at fifty now, knuckles out, so fifty cent retaliated wild 250 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 2: quick stabs of self preservation. 251 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: Then the scuffle. 252 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 2: A pair of hands grabbed one of the speakers to 253 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 2: the top of the recording console and lobbed it through 254 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 2: the air. It slammed Lorenzo right in the head. He 255 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 2: screamed in pain and also because it pissed him off. 256 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 2: The blood gushed down the side of his face. Fifty 257 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 2: Cents stumbled tried to catch his breath. Black Child flashed 258 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 2: a knife. Fifty sot gleam in the darkness, like it 259 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 2: was winking at him, this all knowing, all seen beacon 260 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,119 Speaker 2: of impending doune about. 261 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: To all fuck up. 262 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 2: Black Child lunged forward, jabbed, and sunk the knife right 263 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 2: into Fifty's chest. Fifty howled. The pain consumed him, breathing in, 264 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 2: breathing out. It hurt like fucking hell. He slumped to 265 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 2: the floor, teeth clenched, eyes squeezed tight, while Lorenzo, Black 266 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 2: Child and jah Rule scurried out the same way they'd 267 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 2: come in. Minutes later, fifty cent was in the back 268 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 2: of an ambulance, racing down the streets of Midtown to 269 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 2: Saint Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, where doctors treated his gaping chest wound, 270 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 2: along with a partially collapsed a long Two months later, 271 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 2: after getting back on his feet, fifty cent was shot 272 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 2: nine times by an unknown would be assassin and nearly killed. 273 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 2: It was the totality of these two incidents, happening so 274 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: quickly back to back, that cemented fifty cent not only 275 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 2: as authentic, but dangerous, So dangerous and so hot the 276 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 2: Columbia Records got cold feet. He may have survived those 277 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,080 Speaker 2: nine bullets he took outside his grandmother's house in Queen's 278 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 2: but he wouldn't survive his first relationship with a major label. 279 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 2: Columbia pulled Power of the Dollar with no intention to 280 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 2: release it, or any other fifty cent album for that matter, 281 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 2: And right at the moment when he was supposed to 282 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 2: be blowing up by executing that stick up strategy, by 283 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 2: taking that rat money instead, fifty cents dead man game 284 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:18,920 Speaker 2: left him dead in the water. 285 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this word word word. 286 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 2: Murder. 287 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: Inc. 288 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 2: Made sure to hit fifty cent while he was down. 289 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 2: IRV God He went live on Hot ninety seven's The 290 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,959 Speaker 2: Star and Buck Wywe Morning Show. IRV told all in 291 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 2: New York that fifty cent had gone soft, that fifty 292 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 2: had turned tail, that fifty cent was a rat. So 293 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 2: fifty cent you're never gonna believe this went and got 294 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 2: himself in order of protection against IRV Gotti and Jah rule. 295 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 2: This is what IRV Gotti told Pot ninety seven that 296 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,640 Speaker 2: fifty cent was essentially acting like a little bit. That's 297 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 2: him talking, not me. Also him talking, a guy does that. 298 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,680 Speaker 2: He makes himself all cozy with the NYPD. That guy 299 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,640 Speaker 2: is not authentic, and that guy is essentially a fucking snitch, 300 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 2: per IRV God he's thinking, But fifty cent was no snitch, 301 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,120 Speaker 2: IRV God. He was only half right, whether he knew 302 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:28,919 Speaker 2: it or not. There was in order of protection, but 303 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,879 Speaker 2: it had been issued by the NYPD on behalf of 304 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 2: fifty cent. And no matter how much IRV Godi and 305 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 2: Crys Lorenzo and Prem tried to discredit their rival, their 306 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 2: strategy continued to backfire, only adding to fifty cents suddenly 307 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,439 Speaker 2: larger than life profile, which in turn was how one 308 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 2: of his mixtapes ended up in Eminem's Walkman, and then 309 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 2: to a million dollar deal with m in Doctor Dre's 310 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,119 Speaker 2: hip hop Empire. And so as fifty cents debut album 311 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 2: was once again back in the pipeline, being prep for 312 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 2: an early two thousand and three release, he doubled back 313 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 2: to respond to the guys who had left him for 314 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 2: dead and were now trying to bury him alive. 315 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: To be clear here, I'm not talking. 316 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 2: About the guy who shot him nine times, as fifty 317 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 2: would make known on the track many Men Wish Death 318 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 2: from his debut album, Get Rich or Die, Trying the 319 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,120 Speaker 2: shooter was a stick up kid from four Green named 320 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 2: Darryl homo Baum, who was killed just weeks after he 321 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 2: tried to ice fifty Cent. When I say left him 322 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 2: for dead and we're now trying to bury him, I'm 323 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 2: talking about the shit that went down at the Hit 324 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 2: Factory and the subsequent slandering of fifty cents name on 325 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 2: the airwaves. But as usual, fifty was three steps ahead 326 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,400 Speaker 2: of his antagonists. Just weeks after IRV God he called 327 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,880 Speaker 2: fifty a snitch. In December of two thousand and two, 328 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 2: fifty Cent, in his rap trio G Unit, released an 329 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 2: independent mixtape titled The Future Is Now. One of its 330 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 2: standout tracks was I Smell Pussy, and it flipped IRV 331 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 2: Gotti's script by calling out IRV Ja Rule and the 332 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 2: guy who stabbed fifty cent Black Child by their names, 333 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 2: as in I Smell Pussy is that U IRV? 334 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: I Smell Pussy is that Jujah Rule. 335 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 2: Fifty Cent didn't go after preim on this particular track, 336 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,439 Speaker 2: but the notorious crack Kingpin was having enough problems of 337 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 2: his own. Earlier in the year, Supreme had pleaded guilty 338 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,440 Speaker 2: to a weapons possession charge, and he was currently out 339 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,000 Speaker 2: on bail and awaiting sentencing, and the shocking recent murder 340 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 2: of run DMC's jam Master J had brought more unwanted 341 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 2: attention from the cops in some of Jay's close friends, 342 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 2: friends like fifty Cent, who was mentored by jam Master J. 343 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 2: They weren't going out of their way to say that 344 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:37,679 Speaker 2: Preme hadn't had anything to do with the shooting, and 345 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 2: so as g units I Smell Pussy kept the cold 346 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 2: December streets of New York City red hot. 347 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: Pream was laying low down in Miami Beach. 348 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 2: He checked into the Lowe's Hotel under an alias, paid 349 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 2: with cash, and then quietly slipped into a room with 350 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,199 Speaker 2: walls as white as the outfits at a Sean Combe's 351 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:59,640 Speaker 2: Labor Day party. But his quiet reprieve didn't last long. 352 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 2: As Priam sat there alone, his hotel room door was 353 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,160 Speaker 2: busted down from the outside with a bang, and splintered 354 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,720 Speaker 2: wood paved the way for FBI agents in their trademark windbreakers. 355 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 2: They grabbed Priam's arms and twisted them behind his back, 356 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 2: locking his wrists and cuffs. 357 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:20,440 Speaker 1: What the fuck was it this time? Priam shook his head. 358 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,359 Speaker 2: He didn't know who did Jim Master Jay, but it 359 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 2: wasn't him. Now it was the Fed's turned to shake 360 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 2: their heads. They didn't care. They weren't here for that. 361 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 2: They had pream on another weapons charge, one from a 362 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 2: few years back when he brought a machine gun to. 363 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: A shooting range. 364 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 2: What's this, one of the agents wanted to know. We're 365 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 2: rocking and rolling tonight, are we pream As he said, 366 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 2: he was holding up a baggy of viagra and another 367 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 2: baggie full of ecstasy that were found right there on 368 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 2: the nightstand, next to a Murder Ink pager. And that's 369 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 2: where the Feds were headed next, straight out of this 370 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 2: Miami safe house and back to New York, where, not 371 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 2: even a week later, the record company that they believe 372 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 2: Preme Bank World was about to be taken down. January third, 373 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:11,479 Speaker 2: two thousand and three, Manhattan. Early, the elevator doors opened 374 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,119 Speaker 2: on the twenty ninth floor of the Worldwide Plaza building 375 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 2: on Eighth Avenue. The surge of Federal agents and NYPD 376 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 2: detectors came flooding out, vest strapped, tight weapons, locked and 377 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,120 Speaker 2: loaded warrant in hand. They crashed through the front door 378 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 2: of Murder Inc's corporate offices and began to turn the 379 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,160 Speaker 2: place upside down. They seized computers, foxes of files, two 380 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 2: way pagers, anything they could use to trace the dirty 381 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 2: money back to Preme. Cut to New Jersey where more 382 00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:44,040 Speaker 2: FBI agents and NYPD officers were raiding the house belonging 383 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 2: to Cynthia Brent, Murder Inc's accountant, and then to Westchester County, 384 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: New York. IRV Gotti's house raided, and then Wexford Terrace 385 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 2: and Queen's the home of Joe Reagan, one of Prem's 386 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:03,239 Speaker 2: longtime associates, raided. All four places were raided simultaneously by 387 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 2: the FEDS that morning, along with a fifth location, Chris 388 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:11,399 Speaker 2: Gotti's apartment at an undisclosed location. And then, with an 389 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 2: affidavit filed with the US Attorney's Office, the United States 390 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 2: Government officially made the claim that prim was the quote 391 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:21,600 Speaker 2: true owner quote of Murder Inc. And then he provided 392 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 2: the Lorenzos in the label with muscle aka threats, violence 393 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 2: and intimidation. Four days later, while job Rules Record Label 394 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 2: was trying to peel the g men off their backs, 395 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,600 Speaker 2: fifty Cent pulled that G unit guerrilla move of his, swooping. 396 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,720 Speaker 1: In and taking that rap money. He hit Murder Inc. 397 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:42,159 Speaker 1: Where it really. 398 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 2: Hurt on the charts and in the minds and hearts 399 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 2: of the record buying public. His smash single in the 400 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,680 Speaker 2: Club was released on January seventh, two thousand and three. 401 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 2: It spent nine consecutive weeks at the top of the 402 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 2: Billboard Top one hundred and during its time in the 403 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 2: number one slot as quick as a kelvin and liquor 404 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 2: store stick up, and set a Billboard record as the 405 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:33,400 Speaker 2: most listened to song in radio history. Two thousand and five, 406 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,200 Speaker 2: Brooklyn Chris and erv Lorenzo sat inside a federal courthouse, 407 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 2: watching nervously as one of Prem's former close confidants walked 408 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 2: slowly to the witness stand. The brothers were on trial 409 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 2: for laundering more than one million dollars in drug proceeds 410 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 2: through their Murder Inc. 411 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: Record label. 412 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 2: In total, nine individuals and two corporations have been charged 413 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 2: with everything from racketeering to cocaine, heroin and crack trafficking 414 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 2: to homicide. Chris and ear of Lorenzo considered it a 415 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 2: win early on when a judge granted their request to 416 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 2: try them separately from Prem, who they continued to maintain 417 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 2: was in their orbit for street credit only but did 418 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 2: not contribute financially to their business. If they were guilty 419 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 2: of anything, they said, it was guilt by association, plain 420 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 2: and simple. But even though Prem was not in the 421 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 2: courtroom with them, you could nevertheless feel his shadow casting 422 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,159 Speaker 2: Paul over the proceedings. The allegations, The charges that the 423 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:34,400 Speaker 2: Lorenzos were facing were serious, career ending, life altering charges, 424 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 2: and so as they watched while former Prime associate Joe 425 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 2: Reagan sat down in the hot seat next to the. 426 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: Judge, their pulses quickened. 427 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 2: The prosecuting attorney asked John Reagan if he could recall 428 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:50,640 Speaker 2: the events of one day in particular, some five years earlier, 429 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 2: May twenty fourth, two thousand. Reagan nodded his head. He 430 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 2: had a mind like a steel trap. He remembered that 431 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 2: day like it was yesterday. Reagan was no longer as 432 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 2: close with Prem as he'd once been, and with the 433 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,959 Speaker 2: feared crime mogul now on the hook for a laundry 434 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,120 Speaker 2: list of offenses, including two murder for higher homicides, Reagan 435 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 2: really didn't care what he said incriminated his one time ally, 436 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 2: So Reagan began to talk. He recalled how Prem came 437 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 2: by his auto garage in Brooklyn that afternoon. Pream had 438 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 2: come all the way from Queen's and he had two 439 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 2: other guys with him. Now, the reason that they went 440 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,359 Speaker 2: all the way to Brooklyn and the first place was 441 00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 2: to buy a bunch of stuff from stores. They're on 442 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 2: a shopping spree, you could say. And it's not that 443 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 2: Pream was in a shopping mood or anything. He just 444 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 2: wanted receipts, pieces of paper to prove that he had 445 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 2: been in Brooklyn during the afternoon and not in Queen's 446 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 2: were just an hour before nine bullets ripped through fifty 447 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 2: cents body. But of course Prem had actually been in 448 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 2: South Jamaica Queen's that day. According to John Reagan's recollection, 449 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 2: Reagan testified that Prem told him they'd just come from 450 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 2: Queen's where fifty was shot coming out of his grandmother's 451 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 2: house and then left to bleed out, just like the 452 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 2: og fifty cent Kelvin Martin how he had led out 453 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,320 Speaker 2: on that seventh floor stairwell some thirteen years earlier. Now. 454 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 2: John Reagan further said that while Preme ordered the hit, 455 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 2: that he hadn't pulled the trigger, but that was one 456 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 2: of the other two guys who showed up Reagan's garage 457 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:29,119 Speaker 2: that day and that dude's name was Robert's son Lyons. Again, 458 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 2: this is alleged by John Reagan. But wait, you're thinking, Jake, 459 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,159 Speaker 2: you told us earlier that fifty Cent id'd Daryl Hamo 460 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 2: Bomb as his shooter in a song. Yes, that's correct, 461 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 2: and it's also true that the primary book that we 462 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,640 Speaker 2: used for researching this episode Ethan Brown's excellent Fat Cat 463 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 2: fifty Cent in the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler 464 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,719 Speaker 2: also claimed quite definitively that the shooter was indeed Homo. 465 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 2: The distinction of who the trigger man was exactly may 466 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 2: not really matter in the end, because the big bombshell 467 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 2: here in John Reagan's testimony was that prem was the 468 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 2: one who'd been behind the attempted assassination of fifty Cent. 469 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,400 Speaker 2: It was not some random stick up kid. It wasn't 470 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 2: some low key street beef for whatever. It was the 471 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 2: mastermind of a New York criminal empire, the chief of 472 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 2: the Supreme Team, the alleged muscle of a record label 473 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 2: with which fifty Cent had been publicly feuding. So to recap, 474 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:33,399 Speaker 2: fifty Cent claimed Hama was the shooter in his song 475 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 2: Many Men Wish Death At the Lorenzo Brothers two thousand 476 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 2: and five trial, John Reagan testified that Robert's son Lyons 477 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 2: pulled the trigger on behalf of Prem, who sat by 478 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 2: and watched as fifty cent was sprayed with gunfire. Now, 479 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 2: this was one man's testimony. This was talked from a 480 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 2: guy who we can assume had fallen from grace and 481 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 2: fallen out. 482 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: Of favor with Prim at some point. So who knows. 483 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,800 Speaker 2: Perhaps John Reagan had something to gain from saying something 484 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 2: like this, Perhaps that game was just to hurt Prem 485 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 2: or to hurt the Lorenzos. It's important to note that, 486 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 2: like many aspects of Prem's relationship with murder incorporated, this 487 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 2: particular allegation has never been proven in a court of law. 488 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: But here's the thing. Before the jury could hear John. 489 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 2: Reagan's story, the defense attorney, the Lorenzo's attorney, made this 490 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 2: argument to the judge, and I quote, this fifty cent 491 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 2: artist is at the height of his popularity, and this 492 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 2: is an explosive issue. It's fundamentally unfair. I believe this 493 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 2: to be outcome determinative. This would be like a plot 494 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 2: to assassinate Bob Dylan unquote. In other words, people would 495 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 2: lose their minds if they knew that one of the 496 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 2: biggest leaders of New York City organized crime, Kenneth McGriff 497 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 2: aka Supreme aka Preme, put out a hit on one of 498 00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 2: the biggest rappers in the world. 499 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 3: That it would be a quote unquote explain jo issue 500 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,840 Speaker 3: and that the public wouldn't be able to handle it, 501 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 3: so the judge did not allow the jury to actually 502 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 3: hear this explosive testimony from Joe Reagan implicating Kenneth's Supreme 503 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,480 Speaker 3: McGriff aka Preme as. 504 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 2: The mastermind behind the assassination attempt on fifty Cent. Less 505 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 2: than two weeks later, on December two, two thousand and five, 506 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 2: Chris and IRV Lorenzo were acquitted of the federal charges 507 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 2: against them, but despite this, their reputation was already damaged 508 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 2: by the criminal allegations and by their ties to Preme, 509 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 2: so much so that their careers and their murder and 510 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 2: glabel were never the same again. Their beef with fifty 511 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 2: Cent was never really squashed, and in the years that followed, 512 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 2: Chris Lorenzo co founded Adventures, a digital distribution platform aimed 513 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 2: to give artists. 514 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,200 Speaker 1: More control, and IRV Lorenzo eventually. 515 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 2: Went into TV production before suffering a massive stroke and 516 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 2: dying in early twenty twenty five. Supreme McGriff Akaapreme He, 517 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 2: on the other hand, despite the jury not hearing the 518 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 2: testimony from Joe Reagan incriminating him as the one who 519 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 2: ordered the hit on rapper fifty Cent back in two 520 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 2: thousand and. 521 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: Five, was not so lucky. 522 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,600 Speaker 2: In February of two thousand and seven, following his own 523 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 2: trial from murder conspiracy in drug trafficking, Kenneth Supreme McGriff 524 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,960 Speaker 2: was sentenced to life in prison without parole. 525 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 1: During his trial, he. 526 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 2: Was asked by prosecutors about his role in the attempted 527 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 2: assassination of fifty Cent. Preme straight up denied any and 528 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 2: all involvement and said that the government and the media 529 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 2: made the whole thing bigger than it actually was. But 530 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 2: to the hip hop community at large, the prem fifty 531 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 2: beef was an iconic conflict which shaped rap music in 532 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,520 Speaker 2: the early two thousands and helped define who fifty Cent was. 533 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 2: Later that same year, as Preme began serving his life sentence, 534 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 2: fifty Cent released his third studio album, debuted at number 535 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 2: two on the bill Board Album chart, and within a 536 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 2: month and a half it sold over one million copies. 537 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 2: Fifty Cent called the album Curtis perhaps a surprisingly vulnerable 538 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 2: move to acknowledge the person he was before he took 539 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 2: a dead man's name as his own, a dead stick 540 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:21,600 Speaker 2: up man who led a nasty, brudish and short life 541 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 2: of disgrace. I'm like fifty cent, who's still breathing, and 542 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 2: who took that money without ever shaking hands with it. 543 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:44,560 Speaker 4: I'm Jake Brennan, and this his Disgraceland. 544 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 2: All right, thanks for rolling with me in this fifty 545 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 2: Cent Part two episode of Disgraceland. 546 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: Apple podcast listeners, make sure you have auto downloads turned on. Listen. 547 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:56,080 Speaker 1: I want to know from you, guys. 548 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 2: Six point seven nine h sixty sixty six three eight 549 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 2: which hip hop star would you most want to sit 550 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,600 Speaker 2: down and have a drink with, chill out with, talk with, 551 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 2: ask questions to share some stories. 552 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: Is it fifty cent? Who is it somebody else? Let 553 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:09,840 Speaker 1: me know? 554 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 2: It could be any hip hop star from any era. 555 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 2: Not looking for rockstars, not looking for. 556 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,760 Speaker 1: Pop stars here, You're looking specifically for hip hop stars. 557 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: Which one would you most want to hang out with? 558 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 1: Let me know? 559 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 2: Six one seven nine six six six three eight Call 560 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 2: me with your answers. Leave a voicemail, send me a text, 561 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 2: and you might hear yourself on the next episode of 562 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 2: the After Party coming up right after this At disgracelampod, 563 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:32,160 Speaker 2: I'm the socials. You want to get at me on 564 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 2: anything else? Scracelampod at gmail dot com. 565 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: I get to take off. Here come some credits. 566 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 2: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 567 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 2: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 568 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,240 Speaker 2: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 569 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 2: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank. 570 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: You for supporting the show. 571 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,520 Speaker 2: We really appreciate it, and if not, you can become 572 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 2: a member right now by going to disgracelampod dot com 573 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 2: slash membership, rate and review the show, and follow us 574 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 2: on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at disgracelampod and on 575 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 2: YouTube at YouTube dot com slash at disgrace Lampod Rock 576 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 2: a roller. 577 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:16,879 Speaker 3: He's a bad down man.