Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was on tour for his career-launching 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin' when he first learnt of the Black Mafia Family (BMF) – the subject for his new eponymously-titled TV drama, which premiered on Starzplay on Monday.
By then, the drug trafficking and money laundering organisation was already an established cocaine distribution network across the US. Founded in Detroit in the late 1980s by the Flenory brothers, the group had more than 500 members and was also directly involved with the Mexican drug cartels.
The group remained nameless for more than a decade after its establishment, and had only just branded itself as the Black Mafia Family when 50 Cent first heard of them.
The organisation branched into the hip-hop industry, starting BMF Entertainment, which would go on to serve as a front for the group to launder their earnings from the drug trade.
BMF Entertainment helped support several emerging and established hip-hop acts, even launching the career of rappers such as Young Jeezy. But perhaps more than that, they were known for their parties, glitzy and lavish even by hip-hop standards.
50 Cent says he was in a “different headspace” as BMF rose in popularity in the music industry, and did not attend their get-togethers. The rapper says he made more than $38 million from his first tour and was no longer involved in “things that easily fit my prior MO [modus operandi]”.
“I kind of learnt of Black Mafia Family from other talent around,” 50 Cent tells The National.
“I wasn’t as social. I wasn't out in the mix or at a party. Anywhere that I wasn't scheduled to be, I wasn’t there. So I didn’t interact with them in the early stages; it was the other talent that was around that would go out, party, have experiences with them and then come back and have these stories about the Black Mafia Family.”
“It was at the same point when I’m moving up and they are at the financial point where they can do anything and everything they want,” he says. “We couldn’t miss it really.”
Looking back, 50 Cent says it would have been easy for him to get wrapped up in the world of BMF, especially “because I went through a kind of similar experience”, he says, alluding to his early life selling drugs in New York City during the 1980s.
“But not to the magnitude of what [BMF] were doing. They definitely exceeded what my experience was like on the street.”
However, BMF’s heyday in hip-hop was brief, as the group was indicted by the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2005. The Flenory brothers – Demetrius "Big Meech" and Terry "Southwest T" – were arrested and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment each.
While the group’s drug operations and associations within the hip-hop world made ample fodder for an arresting TV show, 50 Cent says he was more captivated by the fraternal aspect at the heart of the group. Black Mafia Family, he points out, tries to bring that to the forefront.
“The show is about two brothers that make a decision,” he says. “Really it’s the older brother and then the decision of the younger to follow. That happens so often. I don’t know if this is because they can run faster than you or jump higher than you, that you just want to be like the older brother so you’re doing the same things, but that’s a family story.
"It’s about a real family and what their experiences were like growing into the position that they’re known for.”
That’s not to say the show will shy away from the opulent and Dionysian lifestyle the group was known for.
“When you say BMF, a lot of people don’t think Black Mafia Family, they think Blow Money Fast,” 50 Cent says. “It’s all of the aspirational portion of our culture that understands and loves the idea of no limitations. They completely gravitate to the story for those reasons because they’ve seen it.”
The show stars Lincoln Heights actor Russell Hornsby, Law & Order: Organized Crime actor Steve Harris, The Rickey Smiley Show actress Alijona Alexus and The Wire actor Wood Harris, as well as rappers Snoop Dogg and Eminem.
Terry is portrayed by Da'Vinchi, whereas Demetrius "Lil Meech" Flenory Jr takes the role of his father.
"Lil Meech is playing Big Meech in the series, and it's exciting for me because I looked around when I got the first draft of the script," 50 Cent explains.
"I hired two very big casting agents in LA to show me the younger guys that would be ideal for the role, and none of them kind of met the description. And then I looked on social media. I was on Instagram and I saw a picture of Lil Meech."
“I'm looking at him, thinking 'he should play his dad.' We only see that happen when O'Shea plays Ice Cube in NWA in Straight Outta Compton. In The Sopranos, James Gandolfini’s son played a younger version of him," he says. "In this particular situation, I had a long time, so I sent Meech to acting classes. I moved him from Atlanta to California so he could take acting classes consistently. He really did the work. He went out there."
50 Cent, who also helmed the TV show Power, says he’s been wanting to bring the story of BMF to the screen for a while, having bought the rights to the project in 2015.
“It’s one of the best stories to tell,” the Many Men rapper says. “They’re very close to music culture. A lot of times street culture is very close to hip-hop culture. Everyone’s very, very close together. The time period is when hip-hop shifted from the east coast sound or the west coast sound to a more southern-based song, and dance culture became more relevant at that point. It’s where we are now musically.
"When you think trap music ... it's hustle music. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it’s really BMF music.”
UAE SQUAD
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mobile phone packages comparison
