Reebok & 50 Cent

So Fifty Cent is in trouble again. There was a recent dispute between him and Game, a member of his G-Unit crew, which led to gunfire being exchanged in front of a New York City radion station. They've since kissed and made up, which makes a lot of people believe the event was just a set up to push sales of Fifty's recent release. I don't think this is the case as much as the record companies who hire these artists creating an environment that encourages these types of conflicts to occur.

Errol Louis, a columnist for the Daily News, who who is fed up with rap-related violence, called for the state of New York to divest itself of any investments it might have in Reebok, who manufactures Fifty's G-Unit line of footwear. In the article, he states, "Cut off the money, and you choke off the sewage at the source."

Honestly, I don't see the city or state divesting, but with Al Sharpton recently joining the national dialog to address hiphop violence, I do think we'll soon see the end of gunplay as a cheap marketing ploy. For far too long, the record companies have been letting this happen. It's high time they at least pretend to value the lives of the artists and their fans as much as they do their end-of-year bonus checks.