‘Keep It All the Way a Buck’: Rapper 50 Cent Disputes Jim Jones’ Claim that Dipset, Not G-Unit, Released the First Mixtape

Rapper 50 Cent responded to Jim Jones claiming that his group the Diplomats, also known as Dipset, began the mixtape movement. Jones made the claim during an appearance on the podcast, “Flip Da Script” on Feb. 6.

After Jones was asked which hip-hop group put out the first mixtape, he said it was his group Dipset, not G-Unit.

“Let’s get this right and I’m going to keep it all the way a buck,” said Jones. “We started the mixtape movement, right? And it wasn’t a crew mixtape. We were making real albums and putting them out as mixtapes. And G-Unit was doing replays of other people’s beats and making mixtapes.”

@thehiphopwolf/Instagram

Jones went on to claim that Dipset used their mixtapes as albums to promote their “real albums” and that they put out their first one before G-Unit.

“It was a big difference. We was using our mixtapes as albums to promote our real albums, and off those mixtapes, we were taking singles that the people started lovin’ and started putting them on our real albums.” he said. “But even in that, we put the Dipset mixtape out first before G-Unit put their mixtape out. Now go Google it.”

According to Vibe, Dipset and G-Unit released their first mixtapes back in 2002 with Dipset releasing “Diplomats Volume 1” early in the year. G-Unit’s “50 Cent Is The Future” was released in the summer. 50 Cent and G-Unit went on to release 33 mixtapes in total, while the Dipset only released a total of eight total mixtapes.

After The Hip Hop Wolf shared a clip of the interview on Instagram, 50 Cent replied in the comment section. “He lyin’ LOL.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top