Listen to 50 Cent, “9 Shots”

Yesterday (August 13), word got out that 50 Cent had some new heat for his fan base. Video surfaced online of the Queens rapper performing a starkly personal new single called "9 Shots." The song, which he said would be included on his long-awaited Street King Immortal, plays off the 2000 shooting that left him in recovery for half a year and uses the titular shots as metaphors for difficult points in his life. Where much of 50's post-Curtis, pre-Animal Ambition material was marked by an obvious play for the pop charts, "9 Shots" reverts back to a more personal style of songwriting that endeared himself to fans on the early-2000s New York mixtape circuit. Whether the one-time global pop star can fully remake himself as an independent outsider remains to be seen, but it sounds as if his pen is as sharp as ever. Above is a video of the song's debut performance; for now, the studio version is available only on iTunes.