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Many Men (Wish Death)

"Many Men (Wish Death)" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). The song was produced by Darrell "Digga" Branch, and Luis Resto.[2] Despite the song charting and having a music video, it was only released as a promotional single.

Music video

The video was directed by Jessy Tererro and produced by Jill Hardin and Darrell "Digga" Branch.[3] The song's music video is about 50 Cent's shooting from May 24, 2000, when he was shot 9 times in Queens, New York. Mekhi Phifer appears in the video as 50's hitman. Adam Rodriguez and Rory Cochrane, both stars of CSI: Miami at the time of production, appear as detectives. Gabriel Casseus appears as a person who is allied with the person that shoots 50 Cent. Tommy Lister appears as one of 50 Cent's associates. G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck make cameo appearances.

The music video on YouTube has received over 500 million views as of March 2024.[4]

Commercial performance

The song peaked at number 11 on the US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles.[5] On June 14, 2006, "Many Men (Wish Death)" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling 500,000 copies in the United States of America.[6] On January 19, 2023, it was certified three times platinum by the RIAA, indicating 3 million copies sold.[7]

Legacy

American rapper Pop Smoke interpolated the song on his 2020 track, "Got It on Me",[8] and producer Metro Boomin sampled the song on his and 21 Savage's 2020 track "Many Men".[9]

Vietnamese-American writer Ocean Vuong repeatedly references the song in his novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. As Vuong explained in an interview, "50 Cent’s song was ubiquitous in the early aughts, where so much of this book takes place. It also marked the last era of gangsta rap, whose cultural framework provided men and boys a means of performing masculinity while also reducing it to erroneous tropes of misogyny and violence."[10]

Following the 2024 attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the track resurged in popularity, spreading through memes and reaching the top 10 on US iTunes sales.[11][12] On the night of the attempted assassination, 50 Cent performed the song in front of an image of the Get Rich or Die Tryin' album cover with Trump’s face edited over 50 Cent’s own.[13]

Charts

Certifications

References

  1. ^ "Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent | Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "50 Cent - Many Men (Wish Death)". Retrieved March 19, 2015 – via Vevo.
  4. ^ 50 Cent - Many Men (Official Video).YouTube
  5. ^ "50 cent Top Songs". musicvf.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  8. ^ Schwartz, Danny (July 6, 2020). "Pop Smoke's Endless Summer Continues on 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "21 Savage & Metro Boomin Sample A 50 Cent Classic On "Many Men"". Genius. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Quong, Spencer (June 5, 2019). "Survival as a Creative Force: An Interview with Ocean Vuong". The Paris Review.
  11. ^ Taylor Ardrey. "Internet explodes with 50 Cent 'Many Men' memes following Trump attack". USA Today.
  12. ^ RapTV [@Rap] (July 15, 2024). "50 Cent's "Many Men (Wish Death)" entered the US iTunes top 10 following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump" (Tweet). Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "50 Cent puts Donald Trump's face on album cover while performing 'Many Men' after assassination attempt". Page Six.
  14. ^ "50 Cent – Chart History: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 15, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  16. ^ "Danish single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Italian single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  18. ^ "British single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 6, 2023.