50 Cent says his mother’s story shaped a vulnerable “Hate It or Love It” verse
In a Variety interview, he revisited a childhood memory and explained why sharing it made the verse more powerful for listeners with similar experiences.
File photo: 50 Cent at the 2009 American Music Awards, years before this interview. burningkarma · CC BY 2.0 · Resized for display.
50 Cent says he felt no shame when he learned his mother was gay, a memory he connected to his verse on The Game’s “Hate It or Love It.” In a Variety interview published October 18, Jackson recalled that his mother’s close female friends were simply friends to him as a child; his grandmother later explained their relationships.
A memory behind the record
The conversation also returned to his mother’s death. Jackson said he was eight when she died and too young to make sense of the loss. He described the family memory as something he chose to share through the record.
Variety’s Marlow Stern asked about the connection to “Hate It or Love It.” Jackson said being open about a personal memory made the verse more powerful for people with similar experiences. Complex reported the exchange the same day; the wider Variety conversation also covered his role as Balrog in the upcoming Street Fighter film.
