50 CentÔÇÖs ÔÇÿHow To RobÔÇÖ Is A Metaphor For Life

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Being broke will make you do some wild shit. In 1999, a lack of change and progress saw 50 Cent at a crossroads. After completing his first album, Power of the Dollar, he felt buried on the depth chart at Columbia Records. However, 50 wasn’t accustomed to playing second fiddle in life. The frustration of not being in control reached a boiling point so he needed a way to put himself at the forefront of every conversation. That’s where “How to Rob” was born.

As legend has it, he wrote the song on a thirty-minute cab ride on the way to the studio. In an interview with AOL Music, 50 said he came up with the concept of the record because ÔÇ£when robbery is not out of the question itÔÇÖs easy to come up with that concept…at that point, I wasnÔÇÖt doing well financially. He looked at bigger artists having great careers and “certain things that come with success.ÔÇØ As strange as it may sound, I can relate to that sentiment.

Back in 2014, I stood at my own crossroads.

My law school graduation occurred┬átwo years prior but, instead of rolling in piles of money, I was dead broke and struggling to find a consistent job. I watched my girlfriend cry at the dinner table because there were so many bills to pay and no money to pay them. It wasn’t about my pride when I started to think of all the not so legal ways to get money. It was the hopelessness of wiping the tears off the face of a woman I loved but not having the means to fix our situation.

I spent years trying to find the “right” way to start living but nothing worked out in my favor. One day, while staring at a lazy cloud of black and mild smoke, I got fed up. I decided that I was tired of asking people for an opportunity. I became ready to start taking.

I knew people who hustled but they weren’t local. So that was out of the question. Without getting into the details of why, I did know how to get a gun. On “How to Rob,” 50 rapped, ÔÇ£if I canÔÇÖt sell records, IÔÇÖma rob and steal.ÔÇØ I felt the same way. I couldnÔÇÖt find a job so someone else was going to be my income.

Part of what makes ÔÇ£How to RobÔÇØ so endearing, minus the fact that itÔÇÖs just a damned good record, is that underlying sense of frustration. It’s a concept with a funny twist but 50 wasn’t joking about how he felt. He visualized a bubbling anger at the thought of being left in the margins. The people he took aim weren’t random victims. All the entertainers he named were successful in the same industry he tried to get noticed in. 50 didn’t write just to be heard on Columbia. He likely created that record so he didn’t have to┬ágo back to the hood.

I formulated a plan to increase my financial assets. I knew the longer things took to break, the closer I’d get to that line. Knowing that it’d be a point of no return if it got that far, I made one last attempt to find gainful employment. I used every single contact I could muster and put real effort into following up with people on any job leads I came across.┬áI wanted, needed, one last chance to bet on myself.

And thatÔÇÖs why ÔÇ£How to RobÔÇØ resonates with me now more than it did when I originally heard it back in high school. For me, it represents a time where 50 was in the midst of a life changing trajectory and chose to give it one more shot. For 50 and me, one bad decision couldÔÇÖve cost us everything. He found a way to channel his energies into a moment that forever changed his life.

As for me?

IÔÇÖm still working on it.

50 CentÔÇÖs ÔÇÿHow To RobÔÇÖ Is A Metaphor For Life : UPROXX