50, G-Unit, Game etc, are all record company creations. They are manufactured and contrived they are the music equivalent of NBC's primetime lineup.
All the people I grew up listening to, CMW, Quik, Kam, Cube, WC, ATL, etc, were real. Whether they were gangstas or not, they were true to the music and they put thier soul in it. Nowadays music is made to attract the largest audience possible, and follows a set formula. Image is worth 75%, musical skill 25%.