'I read De Niro's interviews during 'Raging Bull,' Christian Bale's during 'The Machinist,' the rapper reveals on 'The View' of preparing for movie role.
By Jayson Rodriguez

50 Cent appears on "The View" on Wednesday
Photo: ABC

Much was made about 50 Cent's dramatic weight loss earlier this year for an acting role that required the muscle-bound rap star to lose more than 50 pounds. But there's been little information about how the fit G-Unit head managed to put the weight back on.

Fif sat down with the women of "The View" on Tuesday and revealed to the hosts what his very first meal was post-production.

"I remember specifically what the first thing was, because I was starving," he laughed. "I had a steak. It was 12 ounces, but I got about four ounces in before I started getting sleepy."

The rapper shocked his fans and followers when Us Weekly got a hold of a still image from the upcoming movie "Things Fall Apart," featuring 50 Cent, Mario Van Peebles, Lynn Whitfield and Ray Liotta. Fif appeared gaunt and sickly in the picture. On the chat show, he drew comparisons to famous method actors who embraced almost tortuous acts to delve deeper into character.

The rapper also revealed he'd studied interviews of actors who attempted similar transformations. "I read [Robert] De Niro's interviews during 'Raging Bull,' Christian Bale's during 'The Machinist,' and Tom Hanks with 'Philadelphia,' " 50 said.

Earlier this year, 50 told a Cleveland newspaper why he went to the lengths he did for the part and movie.

"It's a project that I wrote, produced and financed myself," he said of the film. "It's about a Heisman hopeful who could possibly be going to the league and everyone is assuming he's gonna make it, and then he's hit with an illness. I had a friend of mine who actually experienced cancer, and it's what motivated me to write this screenplay. You don't have to make everything personal, but that project was. That's why I committed to playing a role where I lost 54 pounds. I had to discipline myself enough until I achieved it but ... I got it."

Do you think you could go to the same extremes 50 Cent did to get what you want? Talk about it in the comments.

• 50 Cent

'I am not sure it will be my next album,' rapper says.
By Kyle Anderson

50 Cent
Photo: Jorge Rosenberg/ Getty Images

Since the release of his 2009 album Before I Self Destruct, 50 Cent has been traveling the world, playing shows and taking in new musical ideas. Along the way, he has been putting together music for an album called Black Magic, which was going to find 50 pulling in a number of different genres and influences (most notably from dance and rock music). But according to a recent interview, that entire project may be put on the back burner in favor of a more traditional hip-hop album.

"I've written an album that's called Black Magic, but I am not sure it will be my next album," 50 told the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone. (Portions of the interview appeared on YouTube.) "Black Magic had a different style to it, a different vibe. I was playing with different song structures, music from different genres like rock music. I did some things that were a little dance-inspired, the tempo was higher. Just playing with a lot of things. Since I've made it back to America, I started writing different material that [doesn't] quite fit that concept."

50 told the magazine that much of Black Magic was recorded while he was on the road in Europe, but now that he is back in the United States, he has been offered a cache of excellent music from a number of different beatmakers. "So many producers were accumulating material to send me new ideas, so when I got back I was kind of bombarded with a whole lot of new production."

The Queens-bred star noted that his situation is not unlike Eminem's, who shelved Relapse 2 in favor of the chart-topping Recovery. "That album is still on his computer, but just not for the general public," 50 noted.

Still, the rapper said it's possible that people will be able to hear the music he has been working on. "[Black Magic] may come out shortly after this album that I'm launching," he said. "There are some pieces that are really exciting to me, so I want to put them out as soon as possible. But the whole body of work, the whole concept of that actual album, it may not be my next album."

• 50 Cent

G-Unit member says incident has been exaggerated -- a fan simply 'got a little carried away.'
By Shaheem Reid

Tony Yayo and 50 Cent
Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage

One overzealous fan doesn't stop a show, Tony Yayo says. Earlier this week, footage of 50 Cent and G-Unit performing in Salvador, Brazil, hit the Internet. In the middle of "Ayo Technology," a fan jumps onstage and tries to grab the G-Unit general. 50's security and Lloyd Banks promptly subdue the fan — and the song never stops. On Tuesday (July 13), Yayo gave his take on the situation.

"The show got crazy, man," Yayo, who is still in Brazil with his crew, told MTV News via phone. "For security reasons, when somebody jumps onstage ... when [performers] got on chains for ,000, ,000, ,000, that's a security risk right here. Nobody should be onstage except me, Banks and 50. It was just a fan — he got a little carried away, a little happy. People make it seem like he got beat down real, real bad. He didn't get beat down bad — he just got tackled, taken off the stage and the show [went] on."

Yayo said that whenever the Unit go to foreign territories, fandemonium ensues.

"We been getting crazy love," Tony added about the group's time in Brazil. "That's why I don't want people in Brazil to think we out here beating down our fans. When somebody is on the stage, you want to keep the show going. We never stop the show. When you onstage and you got a crowd of 10,000 Brazilian people, you don't want to stop it because a guy is jumping onstage. Just like Africa or other places you go, people get excited — we're like UFOs to the people. They don't see rappers come to Brazil and come to these other places. Sometimes fans get a little excited — that's what that was about. The guy wasn't beat up bad or nothing."

The incident was hardly the first time a fan has crashed a G-Unit performance. Back in 2008, a fan in Angola jumped onstage and endeavored to make off with 50's Cent chain. Fif and company promptly jumped in the audience and recovered the merchandise. The man was later arrested after being turned in to police by his own parents.

• Tony Yayo
• 50 Cent

Fan tackles Fif during performance of 'Ayo Technology.'
By Mawuse Ziegbe

50 Cent (file)
Photo: Getty Images

50 Cent is known for getting involved in beef with other hip-hop artists, and at least one of the star's followers appears to have been influenced by the rapper's aggro persona. Video of a fan bum-rushing the rapper during a performance in Brazil was posted on RapRadar.com. The footage shows the attacker briefly clutching the rapper before being taken down by security.

About midway through his performance of "Ayo Technology," a fan in a hat and jeans runs onstage and grabs 50 as the rapper leads the crowd in an amped-up rendition of his Justin Timberlake-assisted hit. However, security is right on the heels of the fan and quickly tackles and slams the attacker onto the ground. A man in a white T-shirt (identified in some Web reports as G-Unit member Lloyd Banks) then gets in a few punches before the attacker is hauled offstage. Although he appears somewhat shaken up at first, 50 barely misses a beat and continues to spit the rest of the song, despite the melee.

50 Cent recently embarked on the Invitation Tour in the U.S., and afterward, the star and his G-Unit crew headed to Brazil on Friday for a string of dates. Overzealous stage-jumpers aside, 50 said fans can expect a lot of variety from his upcoming stage shows.

"Because of the technology, there's no real mystique to your actual performance anymore. After the first show, that's gonna be on YouTube. So I have to keep changing the set so that it's not the same show every night," 50 told Cleveland.com. "I got so much material, I could actually perform for three hours straight, so it's easier for me to make the decision to change music than a newer artist that doesn't have that kind of catalog, where they can keep switching songs to play music that people are going to enjoy."

• 50 Cent

50 is 'surrounded by a lot of controversy like myself,' fighter tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Tim Kash

50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather
Photo: MTV News

Celebrity Favorites: 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather

50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather are as cool as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. The lethal combination recently hung out in Los Angeles and sat down with MTV News. Their friendship is so genuine that a lot of times, when they have a conversation, they cut each other off before a sentence can be completed.

"MTV should be actually paying me for this," 50 smiled, sitting next to Money May.

"50 Cent is one of my best friends," Mayweather said. "He's a great person, great guy. He's very controversial. He's surrounded by a lot of controversy like myself. In the rap game he's taking on all comers. In the fight game, I'm taking on all comers."

"All comers!" 50 added. "You know what people mistake about Floyd? When he says 'money.' When he makes reference to money, it's not like he doesn't have a passion for the actual art form of boxing or the skill, because he's obviously the best fighter out there. And they still can't find anybody out there who can beat him."

One man many boxing experts and fans feel can give Floyd a run for his money is Manny Pacquiao. They came close to fighting earlier this year, but the fight was canceled because the fighters couldn't agree on the drug testing. Mayweather has demanded Olympic-style drug testing for the fight and Pacquiao says no. All boxing fans, including 50 Cent, are hoping they can come to some sort of resolution.

"The thing about that situation is this," Mayweather began before 50 chimed in.

"We gon' beat him up. He gon' beat him up!" the Queens MC exclaimed.

"If we don't take the test, if the athlete is cheating, then we're cheating the fans," Mayweather said.

"Why would that [drug testing] be a problem if you wasn't cheating?" 50 opined. "I smell something dirty."

"If you clean, then take the test," Mayweather said. "I'm a clean athlete. [Sugar] Mosley stood up, he took the test. So of course we want him to stand up and take the test. You do your homework on him. I wish him nothing but the best. Me, myself, I'm living my life. I'm comfortable, I'm happy."

For the record, Floyd says his "next fight is life." As for what Mayweather is listening to right now, we defer right back to the G-Unit camp. The champ says he's a fan of Lloyd Banks' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley."

"That's the hottest record out right now," Mayweather insisted. "Something different. It made me go out and buy the Supersport Bentley."

This holiday weekend in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mayweather is hosting an All White Celebration with Vibe magazine.

50 Cent is continuing to work on new music.

• Mixtape Daily: Max B, Freesol

• 50 Cent

'Hate is for suckers,' Bad Boy mogul says during the BET Awards post-show.
By Jayson Rodriguez

Diddy and 50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

50 Cent and Rick Ross lyrically collided last year, and now it looks like the Miami rapper's new business partner is getting caught in the crossfire.

50 Cent has been taking shots at Diddy, Ross' manager, saying the hip-hop mogul is "senile" for thinking he could re-create his early career success with Ross at the helm instead of the Notorious B.I.G. Fif also called Diddy a "serpent" and a "bloodsucker" while conducting an interview with Boston's Jam'n 94.5 radio station. "His music sucks. It's bad," 50 said. "He's not an artist anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

Fif later disparaged Diddy during a concert. "F--- Diddy," 50 told the concertgoers. "Tell him I said that sh-- too."

Diddy appeared to fire back at 50, though, via the BET Awards post-show on Sunday night, although he never called the battle-ready rapper out by name.

"Check this out," the Bad Boy Records founder said as the show was signing off. "I love my people. Let's stop the hate, man. Congratulate. Hate is for suckers. If you hating, you a sucker, and you're ashy and your breath stink. And you know who I'm talking to, you hating-ass crab."

50 and Diddy had a longstanding business admiration for one another, but with the latter's recent alignment with Ross, it seems as if the civility has ended.

Fif and Ross began their quarrel last year when the Miami rapper lyrically referenced rumors that 50 Cent burned down the home of his former girlfriend and the mother of his son; 50 denied the accusation and was never charged in the incident. The two rappers spent a good part of last year trading dis rhymes and swapping even harsher comments in interviews, but in recent months, the beef seems to have subsided.

Do you think Diddy was addressing 50 Cent during the BET Awards post-show? Let us know in the comments below!

• The 2010 BET Awards

• 2010 BET Awards Show Highlights
• 2010 BET Awards Red Carpet

• 50 Cent
• Diddy

Fif tells Mixtape Daily that he might scrap his Black Magic album for a new concept.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Tim Kash

50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather
Photo: MTV News

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

For the original concept of his Black Magic album, 50 Cent said he was inspired by dance music while touring overseas. Now that he's in the U.S., on the Invitation Tour, the G-Unit team captain said he has a whole other muse for a completely different album.

"I started working on it," 50 said last week in Los Angeles. "I been working on writing to a concept for Black Magic. ... I recorded 19 songs. Then when I got back to the U.S., I started writing to a different concept. I spoke to Em. He called me when I was starting in Detroit."

Before Fif could go more in-depth about his upcoming album, his friend, Floyd Mayweather — who sat in on the interview as well — announced he has an LP as well. "We're doing a compilation album," Money Mayweather said. The boxing champ said he'll be highlighting various artists on the project.

"We'll probably launch it in the heat of the next bout," Fif said. "It'll probably be the biggest fight in the history of the sport."

Of course, 50 was referring to the long-delayed Mayweather/ Manny Pacquiao title bout. Floyd wants Pacquiao to take Olympic-style drug testing, and Manny has resisted thus far.

Back to the music: Fif and Mayweather agree that a lot of the hip-hop out right now has taken a softer turn.

"It'll just make room for you to impact when [the hardcore] comes back," 50 assessed. "No one told the world to enjoy that [softer] music temporarily. I think a big portion of why people didn't want to hear the aggressive content is because the people conveying them were lying."

"You got rappers in today's time, they get a small advance from their record label, get a bunch of tattoos, a few piercings on their face, go to jail for 10 or 20 days, [then] they killers," Mayweather weighed in. "Next time out, they rock stars. I think rap is crazy, but it's still very creative."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines or follow the Mixtape Daily team on Twitter: @shaheemreid and @mongosladenyc.

• 50 Cent

Young Money diva breaks down the possibility of working with her fellow Queens natives.
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Nicki Minaj
Photo: MTV News

Nicki Minaj is steadily building a rep as one of hip-hop's most unpredictable artists with her ever-changing Day-Glo hair colors and collaborations with everyone from Robin Thicke to Mariah Carey to Ludacris.

With the buzz about the "Massive Attack" MC's upcoming debut album heating up, fans are on the lookout for who the Young Money Barbie may work with next. As one of the biggest stars to come out of Queens in recent years, a collabo with Southside titan 50 Cent might be a logical step. However, Minaj said that despite sharing a hometown, she and Fif haven't come across each other yet.

"Our paths never crossed, and it's weird," Minaj told DJ Envy in a recent episode of MTV2's "Sucker Free Countdown." "I did meet [Lloyd] Banks, like, once or twice before."

Even if Minaj is planning a major Queens anthem with 50 Cent, she's keeping the details under wraps. "If there is a big surprise, I'm not gonna tell you, Envy," Minaj teased. "I know everybody will know by the time I say it. You gonna tweet it and stuff. It's gonna be on the radio. I mean, why would I tell you that?"

If a Minaj/50 collabo did go down, the rising star would have something else in common with fellow femcee Lil' Kim, who has been taking shots at the Young Money diva. Kim and Fif worked together on the raunchy hit "Magic Stick" from Kim's 2003 album, La Bella Mafia.

It would also be an interesting matchup since 50 has been going at Minaj collaborator and rumored manager Diddy in recent interviews, saying the Bad Boy mogul's music "sucks right now."

Catch more Nicki Minaj with DJ Envy on the "Sucker Free Summer Countdown" from Boston's 94.5 Summer Jam, this Sunday, June 20, at noon ET only on MTV2.

Do you want to see and Nicki and Fiddy duet? Let us know in the comments!

• Drake, Nicki Minaj, Usher And More At Hot 97 2010 Summer Jam

• Nicki Minaj
• 50 Cent

'I was pissy,' rapper says, describing being on a liquid diet to lose weight for role in 'Things Fall Apart.'
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Tim Kash

50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather
Photo: MTV News

During the run of his Invitation Tour, 50 Cent has been bringing out guests from E-40 to Carmelo Anthony. One guy who almost became a surprise for the fans was his good friend Eminem. Slim Shady, however, had to spend time with his family.

"He wanted to come to my performance in Detroit. He was on baby watch," 50 said last weekend in Los Angeles, when he was backstage at the House of Blues with another one of his onstage guests, boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather. "He was like, 'Yo, I wanna come out there, but I gotta stay. Hailie and them looking at me now.' He had to get off the phone, they was like, 'We have to go.' We talked for a little bit -- he was trying to figure when he could expect [my] next record. He was like, 'Do like I make my records, like Dre makes his records. [Put it out] when you feel happy with it 100 percent.' "

"You could take your time," Mayweather added. "You could take your time and make the record special."

50's Black Magic LP is still a ways off, but the rap giant has been filming a slew of movies in the past year, including the drama "Things Fall Apart." He plays a football star stricken with cancer. 50 lost 54 pounds in less than three months for the role.

"I'm glad you got your weight back," Mayweather said to Fif. "I was getting worried. Everybody was telling me [about the picture posted on his website]. I'm not an Internet freak."

"I went from 214 to 160," The G-Unit General said. "I was on a liquid diet for nine weeks.

"I was in Baku, [Azerbaijan,] and I ran from the airport to the hotel," he added, referring to one instance in his training. "I was doing a lot of treadmill running, but it's mental. When you get on the street, you could run. On the treadmill, you start thinking about the time. If you got the same music playing it gets difficult after a while. You gotta have something to distract you."

"When you running on the street, you in control. When you're on a treadmill, you're not in control," Money May added. "I didn't see this [picture] yet, I gotta go check it out."

Fif says not having anything to eat made him angry.

"I was real hungry," he explained. "I was pissy. Any little thing, it was like, 'Get the f--- from around me.' "

• The Evolution Of: 50 Cent

• 50 Cent
• Eminem
• Floyd Mayweather

MC slams Diddy hard while saying Minaj has 'a good little thing going.'
By Mawuse Ziegbe

50 Cent
Photo: Getty Images

The beef between femcees Lil' Kim and Nicki Minaj has tongues wagging, Twitter aflutter and wigs flying. Bad Boy associate and former Notorious B.I.G. protégé Lil' Kim has been aiming not-so-subtle jabs at Nicki Minaj, accusing the Young Money diva of swagger-jacking her candy-colored wigs and not giving the Queen Bee the props she feels she deserves.

Drake has stepped up to defend his Young Money fam, and now one of the titans of hip-hop beef, 50 Cent, has jumped into the fray. Fiddy suggests that it's not just Minaj's success that's bothering Kim — he says the pint-size star may have an issue with Diddy's alliance with Nicki.

"It's probably a little more irritating to see Puffy stand next to Nicki Minaj and for him to say that [Rick] Ross reminds him of Biggie," 50 said in a video interview posted online with Power 98.3 FM in Phoenix. Lil' Kim held it down as a member of the Biggie-helmed collective Junior M.A.F.I.A. in the '90s and even fellow M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease has noticed Kim and Big's influence on Minaj and Ross. And now, Diddy is managing Ross, whose larger-than-life frame and slick lyrics are reminiscent of B.I.G., and has called Minaj "one of the great ones."

50 also didn't hold back when discussing what he feels is the motivation behind Diddy's latest moves. "That's desperation on his part, 'cause his music sucks right now," said 50. "It's bad, so he's gotta kinda stay as close as he can to something else that has some momentum for it to be a'ight."

50 didn't stop there, suggesting that by aligning himself with the Miami boss and the Young Money Barbie, Diddy is trying to create buzz by association. "He's making himself cool to the people that like [Ross and Minaj]."

While 50 acknowledged the similarities between Kim and Minaj's swag, he doesn't think Kim should be rattled by the obvious influences.

"It's obvious ... she was inspired by some of Kim's [style]. But that's not bad. There's not a whole lot of female artists that you can make reference to, so you'll see those little influences even stronger. I think she's hot — I think she's got a good little thing going right now, as far as Nicki Minaj is concerned."

What do you think of the Lil Kim/ Nicki Minaj flap? What do you think of 50's comments? Let us know in the comments below!

• The Evolution Of: 50 Cent

• 50 Cent
• Diddy
• Nicki Minaj

Mixtape Year End Celebration: Mixtape Of The Year

• Drake
• Gucci Mane
• 50 Cent
• Snoop Dogg
• Lloyd Banks

Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, More At The VEVO Launch Party

• Rihanna
• Lady Gaga
• Taylor Swift
• Adam Lambert
• 50 Cent

50 Cent And Beanie Sigel Shake Up New York

• 50 Cent
• Beanie Sigel

Rihanna, Shakira, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert At The 2009 American Music Awards Red Carpet

• Shakira
• Selena Gomez
• Kris Allen
• Mary J. Blige
• 50 Cent

The Evolution Of: 50 Cent

• 50 Cent

50 Cent Promotes His New Fragrance "Power"

• 50 Cent

Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Calle 13, More At Los Premios MTV

• 50 Cent
• Snoop Dogg
• Calle 13

50 Cent, The Diplomats, The LOX And More At Governor's Island, New York, 10.03.09

• 50 Cent
• The Diplomats
• Jim Jones
• Juelz Santana

50 Cent's 40 Day Community Celebration In Queens, New York

• 50 Cent
• Tony Yayo
• Lloyd Banks
• G-Unit

50 Cent's "Family Day" At Great Adventure Amusement Park In NJ

• 50 Cent