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Rapper and mogul 50 Cent rekindled the debate over the best in hip-hop world through his post with a graph depicting album sales of him and Eminem in the UK. Curtis Jackson, the rapper’s real name, claimed that both of them are still ‘Top 5 dead or alive’ which, in turn, ignited the ongoing debate of who is the best in rap.
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The Instagram post of 50 Cent has revealed the UK album charts of the year where Eminem’s greatest hits album ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’ was leading the rap category and 50 Cent’s ‘Best Of’ collection was at the third place. The data, although it pertains to an artist whose peak sales were over fifteen years ago, was a strong evidence of the artist still being relevant. The rapper shared, ‘Still Top 5 dead or alive, check the chart LOL,’ followed by laughing and clapping emojis. What the artist posted was not a question but a proclamation from the self-assured entertainer who always knows his worth.
The reactions to the statements made were quick and they varied indicating how divisive the ‘GOAT’ question is. Many who responded passed their comments in celebration of the long-existing partnership between 50 Cent and Eminem which started in the early 2000s under the guidance of Dr. Dre. One person called them the ‘Batman and Robin of the Industry,’ while another expressed more briefly, ’50 and em still running the game in 2025, kings fr.’ The loyalty between the two was a theme that some user put it very succinctly, ‘One of the few folks that 50 will have their back. Friendship tight as hell.’
Nevertheless, the chart-based argument did not sway everyone. Dissenters questioned the whole logic, one saying outright, ‘There is no rap in UK,’ thus dismissing the British market as insignificant. A second person even gave more precise criticism by stating, ‘Not even top 5 of queens or white corny rappers,’ taking direct aim at and denigrating Eminem’s position. The most colorful dissenting voice was that of a user who likened the endless arguments to children’s fights: ‘Yoo why all these rappers get so emotional over Rhyming words? yall sayin Nursery rhymes it’s like gettin triggered over reading Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat or somethin.’
Amidst the fray, a practical request emerged. One upbeat commentator disregarded the ranking conversation entirely and instead put forward a business proposal: ‘Yo Fif, we need that collab album! Y’all would dominate the rap world.’ This suggestion indicates the prevailing view of the pair’s still enormous commercial power, even two decades after their initial reign.
Moreover, the post inadvertently highlighted the absurd world of the online responses. In addition to the hip-hop debate, there were instances of chatbots and political comments that were not related to the topic, which is a common characteristic of the digital messiness. Nonetheless, the main issue still revolved around the legacy and the figures. Another fan put it this way ‘Timeless > Trendy,’ and referred to 50 Cent’s line from the time when he was just a rising star.
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For 50 Cent, this was a standard action. It was to some extent, a celebration, to some extent a provocation and completely successful in shifting the focus. By equating his own legacy with the indisputable sales figures of Eminem-who holds the record for the fastest-selling hip-hop album ever-he reinforced his claim with solid evidence. Whether or not the entire rap community will consider him ‘top five’ is subjective but the sales data he cited is uncontested within its own context. The controversy he stirred up testifies that the impact of both 50 Cent and Eminem is still very much alive, able to start an intense debate just with a picture and a provocative text. He recently showed up for a Saints game with cognac in hand, enjoyed a college basketball game, had an unexpected run-in with Maury Povich, and shared a glimpse of his busy day.