"Ghetto Qur'an (Forgive Me)" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his unreleased Columbia Records debut album Power of the Dollar and the song itself was leaked in early 2000. The song mentions drug dealers from the 1980s in his neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens.
| "Ghetto Qur'an (Forgive Me)" | |
|---|---|
| Song by 50 Cent | |
| from the album Power of the Dollar | |
| Recorded | 1999 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:35 |
| Label | Trackmasters/Columbia/Sony |
| Songwriter(s) | C. Jackson |
| Producer(s) | Trackmasters |
As with most of the album the song was produced by Poke & Tone of Trackmasters,[1] who used a sample from Diana Ross' and Marvin Gaye's duet "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)".[2] The name of the song is a reference to the Islamic holy book the Quran.[3]
Lyrics
editThe track's lyrics mention several characters 50 remembers from his formative years in Queens, including Kenneth McGriff and his nephew Gerald Prince Miller of the '80s drug gang Supreme Team.[4]
Aftermath
editIt was rumored that the song and the subsequent music industry blacklisting of 50 Cent by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and his associates led to the murder of Run DMC's Jam Master Jay. There is speculation that Jay ignored the blacklisting by mentoring the young 50 Cent and introducing him to the people in the music industry. According to an affidavit by IRS agent Francis Mace, law enforcement officials believed that the shooting of 50 Cent in 2000 was in retaliation for the lyrics of the song which detailed the history of The Supreme Team.[5]
"Ghetto Qur'an" served as a basis for 50 Cent's rivals (mainly Ja Rule, Irv Gotti and the Murder Inc. music group, with whom he was feuding at the time) labeling him a snitch. 50 Cent mentioned in an AllHipHop.com interview that the song was appreciated. He also talked about how Nas' song "Get Down" from the album God's Son similarly mentions names, but few people consider anything wrong with it.[6]
The song was later added to his 2002 mixtape Guess Who's Back?, titled as "Ghetto Qua ran".[7]
The chorus to this song was sampled on Proof's solo CD Searching for Jerry Garcia on the song called "Forgive Me".
References
edit- ^ "Release "Guess Who's Back?" by 50 Cent - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ 50 Cent - 'The 50 Collection Vol. 1 (Original Samples)' Archived 2007-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 29, 2008.
- ^ https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1284&context=lawreview [bare URL]
- ^ 50 Cent – Ghetto Qu'ran (Forgive Me), retrieved 2017-06-11
- ^ Teather, David (September 8, 2005). US investigators uncovered plot to kill rapper 50 Cent Archived 2022-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian. Accessed July 6, 2007.
- ^ Berrios, Martin A. (June 27, 2007). Streets is Watching: 50 Cent Part Two Archived 2007-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. AllHipHop. Accessed July 6, 2007.
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/release/435195-50-Cent-Guess-Whos-Back [bare URL]