http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nypost/20050310/cm_nypost/fittyandgame39sphonywarjustacontoselldiscs&fr=fp-buzz-more
IN RAP, it's all about keeping it real. Yet, in an orchestrated exer cise in spin control yesterday, 50 Cent and his old friend and new sworn enemy The Game kissed and made up.
They said they were so sorry about all the trouble they caused that they served a couple of super-sized checks totaling $253,000 to the cash-strapped Boys Choir of Harlem.
The question is, how stupid are they, or better yet, how stupid do they think we are?
Do they think we won't realize that this entire name-calling, gun-shooting, tough-guy episode smacked of a con to sell records?
Well, it's worked. By battling each other in a war of words punctuated by gunshots, "Fitty" and The Game have all eyes on them, and their record sales are backing that up.
50 Cent sold 1.14 million copies of his new disc, "The Massacre," in its first four days of official release, putting it at the top of the Billboard chart.
Luckily, a great hometown institution — the Boys Choir of Harlem — was able to benefit from the public truce yesterday at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Perhaps not coincidentally, this took place eight years to the day that Brooklyn's Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was shot dead.
With no emotion and loads of difficulty reading the big words written on the paper, Cent told the gathering, "We are here today to show people can rise above even the most difficult of circumstances and together we can put negativity behind us.
"A lot of people don't want to see it happen, but we are responding to the two most important groups — ourselves and our fans. This is an opportunity for people to see us make peace."
This was hardly keeping it real.
The words didn't seem to be his, and he projected zero remorse or affection for The Game.
What he read was a record-company statement that translated as: We're making too much money to kill each other, so we're going to play nice and make some more green.
The Game was much more believable in front of the audience of reporters and celebrities including Russell Simmons and the Rev. Run of Run-DMC.
The Game looked everyone in the eye and said, "We're showing you can control your destiny. I'm going to control mine and do it in a productive and positive way."
He then apologized to the fans, the radio stations, and his label.
"I'm almost ashamed to have participated in the things that went on over the last couple of weeks," he said.
A couple of minutes later, the two rappers posed with the big checks, shook hands and hugged for the cameras.
Is anything settled or was there anything to settle? Only the suits behind corporate doors know for sure.
But don't be surprised if the flailing music business uses the feud-marketing strategy again.
IN RAP, it's all about keeping it real. Yet, in an orchestrated exer cise in spin control yesterday, 50 Cent and his old friend and new sworn enemy The Game kissed and made up.
They said they were so sorry about all the trouble they caused that they served a couple of super-sized checks totaling $253,000 to the cash-strapped Boys Choir of Harlem.
The question is, how stupid are they, or better yet, how stupid do they think we are?
Do they think we won't realize that this entire name-calling, gun-shooting, tough-guy episode smacked of a con to sell records?
Well, it's worked. By battling each other in a war of words punctuated by gunshots, "Fitty" and The Game have all eyes on them, and their record sales are backing that up.
50 Cent sold 1.14 million copies of his new disc, "The Massacre," in its first four days of official release, putting it at the top of the Billboard chart.
Luckily, a great hometown institution — the Boys Choir of Harlem — was able to benefit from the public truce yesterday at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Perhaps not coincidentally, this took place eight years to the day that Brooklyn's Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was shot dead.
With no emotion and loads of difficulty reading the big words written on the paper, Cent told the gathering, "We are here today to show people can rise above even the most difficult of circumstances and together we can put negativity behind us.
"A lot of people don't want to see it happen, but we are responding to the two most important groups — ourselves and our fans. This is an opportunity for people to see us make peace."
This was hardly keeping it real.
The words didn't seem to be his, and he projected zero remorse or affection for The Game.
What he read was a record-company statement that translated as: We're making too much money to kill each other, so we're going to play nice and make some more green.
The Game was much more believable in front of the audience of reporters and celebrities including Russell Simmons and the Rev. Run of Run-DMC.
The Game looked everyone in the eye and said, "We're showing you can control your destiny. I'm going to control mine and do it in a productive and positive way."
He then apologized to the fans, the radio stations, and his label.
"I'm almost ashamed to have participated in the things that went on over the last couple of weeks," he said.
A couple of minutes later, the two rappers posed with the big checks, shook hands and hugged for the cameras.
Is anything settled or was there anything to settle? Only the suits behind corporate doors know for sure.
But don't be surprised if the flailing music business uses the feud-marketing strategy again.
