50 Cent - Rowdy Rowdy

What this video is

Released in 1999 during 50 Cent's first major-label tenure with Columbia Records via the Trackmasters production team, 'Rowdy Rowdy' represents the rarely documented pre-fame phase of one of hip-hop's defining 2000s figures. Tied to the 'In Too Deep' film soundtrack, the video was produced within the South Jamaica, Queens street rap ecosystem before 50 Cent's shooting in May 2000 derailed the Power of the Dollar…

Why it matters

A primary artifact of late-90s East Coast boom bap and hardcore hip-hop, this video documents 50 Cent's earliest filmed self-presentation — raw, street-authentic, and entirely pre-celebrity. As a Kid Capri-produced track sampling Johnny Harris, it bridges classic hip-hop production methodology…

The director

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975, South Jamaica, Queens, New York City) is an American rapper, actor, and entrepreneur. He began his musical career in 1996 and was signed to Columbia Records via Trackmasters in 1999. He directed this video himself…