Afrobeats star Rotimi has opened up about his decision to part ways with 50 Cent’s G-Unit record label, and the reason might surprise you; it all came down to his music style.
In a recent chat with Adesope Live, Rotimi shared that back in 2017/2018, Afrobeats hadn’t yet taken the U.S. music scene by storm.
Although artists like Davido and Wizkid were starting to gain traction in cities like Boston and New York, the genre wasn’t mainstream in the Western world, especially not in places like Los Angeles.
Reflecting on his time at G-Unit, Rotimi said, “I was signed to G-Unit, but back then, Afrobeats wasn’t mainstream in the United States.
While it was popular in the States, especially on the East Coast, the West Coast wasn’t really following it.
When I spoke to 50 Cent about my sound, he was like, ‘What’s this sound you’re trying to do?’ I told him, ‘Bro, it’s Afrobeats.’”
At the time, Rotimi was confident in the potential of his single Love Rhythm, a track he believed had the power to blow up. However, creative differences with 50 Cent became a dealbreaker.
“I told him, ‘If you don’t understand what it is, then I have to go somewhere else.’ He respected that and let me out of my deal because we couldn’t agree on the creative direction,” Rotimi explained.
This bold move turned out to be a pivotal moment in Rotimi’s career. Shortly after, he became the first Afrobeats artist to sign with Empire, a label that fully embraced his vision and understood the genre’s potential.
