According to Blabbermouth.net, "Metal Master" Philip Anselmo conducted an interview with rapper 50 Cent. Bizarre? Well, Anselmo is a contributing writer for Boxing Insider and he was assigned the task to interview one of the most successful rappers of all time about music, boxing and business. And we know Anselmo is always ready to take any challenge and dominate it.
Here are some parts of the interview, courtesy of Boxing Insider.
I am so far removed from pop-culture, it’s pitiful. My foundations (for those of you who know me) are well laid and stern to the point of outright deafening indifference . . . especially when it comes to boxing . . and music.
But fuck all that, that’s my problem.
So, with an intro like the above reads, I gotta say, when I was assigned an interview with 50-Cent, I had no clue who the man was.
Seriously.
Call me morbid, call me pale, call me a victim of pugilistic dementia, but I must say, speaking to this man was an interesting experience. I was beyond impressed with his smarts, his sense of humor, his accomplishments and his future plans.
Despite my hardheaded “opinions” when it comes to the music that pops up randomly on my i-pod, as people go, 50-Cent was, and is, a super class act, and deserves all the accolades he gets.
Read on folk of the fist…
Phil Anselmo: Who were some of your sports idols growing up?
50-Cent: “One of my favorite fighters growing up was Michael Nunn. I also like Pernell Whittaker, Meldrick Taylor and Michael Moorer.”
Phil Anselmo: All unique champions, loved ‘em all too.
50-Cent: “It (boxing) was very exciting in that actual period. Of course I had seen boxing prior to that, but that was at the point where I would actually be in the gym myself, so I had a little more passion and I paid attention a little more at that point.”
Phil Anselmo: What’s your earliest boxing memory?
50-Cent: “My earliest boxing memory is being with my grandfather. I would watch fights when he was really into it, ‘cause he’s the one who actually turned me onto it. It was like he couldn’t actually get around when he was watching it at the house, or something was going on, but everybody would stop and watch with him. So that was like early Mike Tyson, when he was first coming up in the ranks. We would watch Mike and it was right after that, we would watch a lot of the older fights. Muhammad Ali was the first super star in my house.
Phil Anselmo: Who were some of your music idols growing up?
50-Cent: “It was hard to escape Michael Jackson. He was a star since he was so young… I think he bridged the gap between age demographics, because of how early he was an actual star. His audience grew with him, and the younger audience followed the older fans. As far as the actual performances were concerned, he always brought something to the table that was really well put together. Before I really decided to enjoy Hip Hop culture, I was still watching what was going on in music, and what Michael was doing was obviously one of those things that stood out.
“It was exciting because I actually had him reach out to me before he passed away to record. We ended up recording the record after he passed, the music tracks were previously laid down, and there was a song called “Monster”, which was in his mind, his new version of “Thriller”. We had conversations before he passed away, and I got to go into the studio and record it with Teddy Riley.”
Phil Anselmo: Do you see any parallels between music and boxing on a business level?
50-Cent: “Well yes. In the past the majority of the record companies were run continuously. Artists would come up and be really exciting at certain points and eventually go through that cycle of entertainment. Then, they (record companies) built entertainment to destroy them (the artists) for the sake of entertainment. And as you go up, and keep going up in an artist’s career, there’s no place to go but down shortly thereafter. And if you look at some of those older artists that are so talented, then ask yourself, ‘What happened to them?’ or ‘Why aren’t they still recording?’ or ‘Why aren’t they still exciting to the general public?’, it’s because the public follows that system. The shadow of doubt is cast over artists and music culture at different points. You have to be independent in order to work things out through that shadow. Because it’s this system that decides who is relevant, and companies have to see if they’re gonna continue to market and promote the actual projects anymore.
“And it’s the same with fighters; they’ll grow up and they’ll see some excitement around them and they’re having their moment, but in boxing if there is no opponent, the general public will make one for you. If a guy happens to be a shining star in his weight class, there’ll be another fighter that may have a great performance in the same division, so that guy will be perceived as the guy that can beat the shining star. And the public and press will make the challenger as relevant as you, because the star fighter needs to fight!
“And like music culture is to boxing, you’re only as exciting as your last hit record, or in boxing/music terms, your last performance or fight.”
Phil Anselmo: I know you’ve done some amateur boxing, so do you see any parallels between boxing and life in general?
50-Cent: “When I look at boxing in my life, there are a lot of parallels to it. It takes a lot of discipline in order for you to be successful. Usually, if you’re working in an area that you’re extremely passionate about, you have that focus, without it seeming like a huge sacrifice, or, it doesn’t seem like a lot of work because you’ve got the passion. Most fighters have tunnel vision. They have that complete focus on the actual sport itself, which is why at the end of lot of fighter’s careers, they realize, they haven’t been conscience of their finances because of this focus. You see successful fighters… almost all of them have had financial troubles in the end. And this is what makes me attracted to the sport, because my business is the branding extension.
“This is attractive to fighters because they are conscious enough to understand that fighters like George Foreman made more money selling his grills than actually boxing. So these young boxers want to be able to open the possibilities of these actual opportunities that are possible to come their way if they associate themselves with me. I’m around a lot of these type deals. Some of them, I pass on because it doesn’t feel organic to me. I don’t do things that don’t directly relate to my lifestyle, but they may match a fighter’s lifestyle, so there may be a deal there I can actually make for them.”
Read the rest of the interview HERE!
Related links:
Boxing Insider
Pantera
50 Cent
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