Many Men (Wish Death)

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"Many Men (Wish Death)"
Promotional single by 50 Cent
from the album Get Rich or Die Tryin'
A-side"21 Questions"
ReleasedMay 6, 2003
Recorded2002
GenreGangsta rap
Length4:58
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Darrell "Digga" Branch
  • Eminem (add.) (also co. mixed)
  • Luis Resto (add.)[1]
Music video
"Many Men (Wish Death)" on YouTube

"Many Men (Wish Death)" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). The song was produced by Darrell "Digga" Branch, Eminem and Luis Resto.[2] Despite the song charting and having a music video, it was never released as an official single.

Music video[edit]

The video was directed by Jessy Tererro and produced by Jill Hardin and Darrell "Digga" Branch.[3] The song's music video is about 50 Cent's shooting from May 24, 2000, when he was shot 9 times in Queens, New York, United States. Mekhi Phifer appears in the video as 50's hitman. Adam Rodriguez and Rory Cochrane, both stars of CSI: Miami at the time of production, appear as detectives. Gabriel Casseus appears as a person who is allied with the person that shoots 50 Cent. Tommy Lister appears as one of 50 Cent's associates. G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck make cameo appearances.

The music video on YouTube has received over 500 million views as of March 2024.[4]

Commercial performance[edit]

The song peaked at number 11 on the US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles.[5] On June 14, 2006, "Many Men (Wish Death)" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling 500,000 copies in the United States of America.[6] On January 19, 2023, it was certified three times platinum by the RIAA, indicating 3 million copies sold.[7]

Legacy[edit]

American rapper Pop Smoke interpolated the song on his 2020 track, "Got It on Me",[8] and producer Metro Boomin sampled the song on his and 21 Savage's 2020 track, "Many Men".[9]

Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong repeatedly references the song in his novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. As Vuong explained in an interview, "50 Cent’s song was ubiquitous in the early aughts, where so much of this book takes place. It also marked the last era of gangsta rap, whose cultural framework provided men and boys a means of performing masculinity while also reducing it to erroneous tropes of misogyny and violence."[10]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2003) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[11] 11

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[12] Gold 30,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[13] Gold 45,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[15] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16]
Masterone 		Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent | Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "50 Cent - Many Men (Wish Death)". Retrieved March 19, 2015 – via Vevo.
  4. ^ 50 Cent - Many Men (Official Video).YouTube
  5. ^ "50 cent Top Songs". musicvf.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=50+Cent&ti=Many+Men+%28Wish+Death%29&format=Single&type=#search_section
  8. ^ Schwartz, Danny (July 6, 2020). "Pop Smoke's Endless Summer Continues on 'Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "21 Savage & Metro Boomin Sample A 50 Cent Classic On "Many Men"". Genius. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Quong, Spencer (June 5, 2019). "Survival as a Creative Force: An Interview with Ocean Vuong". The Paris Review.
  11. ^ "50 Cent – Chart History: Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "Danish single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  14. ^ "British single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  15. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "American single certifications – 50 Cent – Many Men (Wish Death)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
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