The 50th Law - 50 Cent [42]
Ja was now forced into going after him. He tried whatever he could to shut Fifty up: he spread nasty rumors about Fifty’s past and attempted to block any record deals he might have; at one point, finding Fifty in the same recording studio he was at, Ja and his cohorts started a brawl. Ja wanted to intimidate Fifty with his muscle and reputation, but this only made Fifty increase the pace of diss tracks that he released. He wanted to push all of Ja’s buttons—make him angry and insecure, burning for revenge. He’d stay cool and strategic, while Ja would lose control. To this purpose, he called Ja a “wanksta,” a wannabe gangsta. He parodied his singing style, his lyrics, everything about his supposed tough-guy image. The songs were hard driving, biting, and humorous.
Slowly but surely, Ja became more and more furious as these songs made it to the radio and journalists peppered him with questions about Fifty. He had to prove his toughness, that he was no wanksta, so he released his own diss tracks. These songs were not witty, however, only violent and vicious. Without realizing it, he had become defensive and not very entertaining.
Fifty’s first record came out at about the same time as one of Ja’s, and its sales far eclipsed those of his rival’s. Now he was the star and Ja began to fade from the scene. Befitting his new role, Fifty stopped the attacks, almost out of pity for his former rival. Ja had served his purpose and it was better to leave him to oblivion.
The Fearless Approach
THE WAY I LEARNED IT, THE KID IN THE SCHOOL YARD WHO DOESN’T WANT TO FIGHT ALWAYS LEAVES WITH A BLACK EYE. IF YOU INDICATE YOU’LL DO ANYTHING TO AVOID TROUBLE, THAT’S WHEN YOU GET TROUBLE.
—50 Cent
Life involves constant battle and confrontation. This comes on two levels. On one level, we have desires and needs, our own interests that we wish to advance. In a highly competitive world, this means we must assert ourselves and even occasionally push people out of position to get our way. On the other level, there are always people who are more aggressive than we are. At some point they cross our path and try to block or harm us. On both levels, playing offense and defense, we have to manage people’s resistance and hostility. This has been the human drama since the beginning of history and no amount of progress will alter this dynamic. The only thing that has changed is how we handle these inevitable moments of friction in our lives.
In the past, people had a greater taste for battle. We can read signs of this in all kinds of social behavior. At the theater, for instance, it was common practice for nineteenth-century audiences in Europe and America to verbally express their disapproval of the actors or the play, yelling, hissing, or throwing things onto the stage. Fights would often break out in the theater over differences of opinion; it was not cause for concern but part of the appeal. In political campaigns, it was accepted as normal that partisans of various parties would confront each other in the streets over their divergent interests. Democracy was considered vibrant by allowing such public disagreements, a kind of safety valve for human aggression.
Now we tend to find the opposite. We are generally much more skittish when it comes to confrontation. We often take it personally if someone overtly disagrees with us or expresses an opinion contrary to our own. We are also more afraid of saying something that could possibly offend those around us, as if their egos were too fragile. The culture tends to elevate as its ideal a spirit of cooperation; being democratic