The Tale of Two Rappers in New York City

By BRS Staff

New York City is known as the place where dreams come true. While dreams come true here, there is also struggle and a bit of pain. For two rappers, A-Thug and 50 Cent, this was the case.

The whole world knows 50 Cent, and diehard fans know of his background. But, the rapper the fans need to know about is A-Thug. Ever since 2003, he has been doing the same things 50 has done.

However, the only difference between A-Thug and 50 Cent is that A-Thug has done everything out of his own pocket. 50 Cent had been trying to break into the game for nearly five years before he landed his major deal with Interscope Records. A-Thug had also been grinding, but he took a leap of faith and recorded an album without any help and he released it.

50 Cent is known by many as a savvy businessman. Only a month ago, he landed an endorsement deal with the headphone line, Sleek, and he purchased stock in the parent company. The stock ended up making him a quick $8 million. But, had 50 Cent not first landed the lucrative deal with Interscope Records, none of his business ventures would be possible.

From the start, 50 Cent has had the support of major companies. G-Unit Records was possible because of the support from Interscope Records. G-Unit Clothing was possible because of the support from Ecko. The defunct G-Unit Films was also another venture backed by Interscope. But, across town A-Thug was building his empire from scratch.

A-Thug used his resources and put together his debut album and released it under his Black Rolling Stones label, a true independent record label. Soon, he set up shop as a street vendor and he sold his album to the people. In the coming years, he added a clothing line to his list of ventures. Black Rolling Stones Clothing was funded through the sales of his albums.

In 2008, A-Thug also launched Megastar Films to go along with his other businesses. Megastar Films was born from the profits from his other two ventures. While A-Thug does not have the money of 50 Cent, he can boast of running three profitable businesses under one umbrella company without the backing of a major company. Everything he makes is his own, the only thing he truly lacks is exposure.

On the streets of Harlem, A-Thug is one of the most popular rappers and he has a solid following throughout the rest of New York City. Once more people learn of the BRS movement, more people will be tuning in to see what new moves A-Thug will come up with. He is the only rapper in the game making partnerships with local businesses throughout the city.

While major label artists make charitable donations, A-Thug is actually in the streets and doing positive things, helping to rebuild local economies. In 2003, two rappers from New York City took matters into their own hands and both have become successes. Eight years later, 50 Cent is no longer with Interscope and A-Thug is pushing his career to the next level, already considered a veteran in the game.