Many Men (Wish Death)

"Many Men (Wish Death)"
Promotional single by 50 Cent
from the album Get Rich or Die Tryin'
A-side"21 Questions"
ReleasedMay 6, 2003
Recorded2002
GenreGangsta rap
Length4:16
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Darrell "Digga" Branch
  • Luis Resto (add.)[1]
Music video
"Many Men (Wish Death)" on YouTube

"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

[edit]

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 nine 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.[4]

The music video on YouTube has received over 500 million views as of March 2024.[5]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The song peaked at number 1 on Billboard Top 200 Albums[6] and at number 11 on the US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles in 2003.[7] The same year, the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.[6] On June 14, 2006, "Many Men" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling 500,000 copies in the United States of America.[8] On January 19, 2023, it was certified three times platinum by the RIAA, indicating 3 million copies sold.[9] While the song was a commercial success, 50 Cent commented in an interview years later the song was his least favorite in Get Rich or Die Tryin', largely in part to it being the slowest song of the album.[6]

Legacy

[edit]

American rapper Pop Smoke interpolated the song on his 2020 track, "Got It on Me",[10] and producer Metro Boomin sampled the song on his and 21 Savage's 2020 track "Many Men".[11]

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."[12]

Following the 2024 attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the track resurged in popularity, placing in the top 10 on the US iTunes sales chart,[13] and rising in sales by 250% on other streaming platforms.[14] 50 Cent responded to the rise popularity by posting on social media "Trump gets shot and now I'm trending 🤷🏽‍♂️", alongside an edited version of the album cover for Get Rich or Die Tryin' with Trump's face placed over his own.[6][15] 50 Cent further performed "Many Men" with the edited cover photo the night of the attempted assassination during a concert in Boston.[15] The edited album cover consequently made the song more popular, spreading on the internet through memes, including an AI cover of "Many Men" performed by Trump.[16]

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2003) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[17] 11

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[18] Gold 30,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[19] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[20] Gold 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[22] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[23]
Mastertone 		Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  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 (Wish Death) (2003 Music Video): Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  5. ^ 50 Cent - Many Men (Official Video).YouTube
  6. ^ a b c d Iasimone, Ashley (July 13, 2024). "50 Cent Posts Get Rich or Die Tryin Album Cover With Trump's Face Following Shooting at the Former President's Rally". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "50 cent Top Songs". musicvf.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  8. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "21 Savage & Metro Boomin Sample A 50 Cent Classic On "Many Men"". Genius. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Quong, Spencer (June 5, 2019). "Survival as a Creative Force: An Interview with Ocean Vuong". The Paris Review.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Denis, Kyle; Lipshutz, Jason; Robinson, Kristin; Unterberger, Andrew (July 17, 2024). "50 Cent's 'Many Men' Up 250% in Streams Following Donald Trump Assassination Attempt". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Whitman, Sara (July 14, 2024). "50 Cent puts Donald Trump's face on album cover while performing 'Many Men' after assassination attempt". Page Six. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  16. ^ Ardrey, Taylor (July 15, 2024). "Internet explodes with 50 Cent 'Many Men (Wish Death)' memes following Donald Trump attack". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  17. ^ "50 Cent – Chart History: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 15, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  19. ^ "Danish single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Italian single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  22. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
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