Photo: Press
"People see that you've got a huge house and you've made a lot of money and you've bought a lot of cars, but they don't think about you getting up and going to work every day," shrugs 50 Cent - in the midst of another gruelling promo campaign to push his new album, the aptly-titled Animal Ambition.
"There's a significance to being in a sustainable position in our culture where the audience has a low attention span. It's never 'what have you done' but 'what have you done for me lately?' You've got to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on."
Regardless of your opinion of 50 Cent, you can't deny that he has always been an artist to put the work in. Rapper, actor, entrepreneur, investor, Curtis James Jackson III has built an empire and become one of the most dominant forces in hip-hop.
During our brief interview, his discourse covers music, business, movies and more - making it clear that he wants to take in all aspects of culture into what he does. This rapper does not have a one-track mind, it's only expanding from here. His secret to moving forwards?
"You have to be original - you have to have your own style, energy and game," he says. "Then, when you have your moment while you're being original, people will really embrace you for being you.
"Now you see tattoo culture has become a big part of hip-hop. It's so accepted that they do it like rock music. Heavy metal was the only area that I saw people so strange that they were tattooing their faces. I saw this one guy when he moved to New York that he would stand out as a complete weirdo, because you can't legitimately go looking for a job with that on your face. The man that actually decided to do that would have to have a purse like a lady with foundation in it to cover up his tattoo."
Are you following? Good.
It's no wonder that 50 Cent's stream of consciousness takes in so many aspects of culture; all he wants to do is feed his personality into art to so the world gets a full 360 degree vision of him as as a man, and him as an artist. If life is just a movie, then why can't a movie be life - and why not a song?
"I think what makes it special is that people get the chance to offer their own experience," he muses. "Whether you identify with it or not, you appreciate it as art imitating life. A film does that, but a song is just that done in three minutes and 30 seconds. When a film does it, its hard to put across a whole lifetime in two hours and that's why it's amazing that in my new television show, Power on the Starz network, allows me to do it and develop that actual character.
"People become fascinated when they see subtleties. When people see me being some kind of person in a subtle way, you believe that they're a real person."
So what of Animal Ambition and follow-up Street King Immortal? Where do these two records take the 50 Cent sound and how does it paint a fuller picture of Curtis James Jackson III for the world to behold?
"On Animal Ambition, it's a hard record," he replies. "On this single disc after all of this hard work, it all boils down to this: it's the World Cup, it's the Super Bowl, it's that kind of moment where it has to pay off - then I've just got to twist it, twist it so tomorrow can bring you everything that your heart desires.
"You need the drive, the ambition, new vision and to have the instincts to make sure you make good decisions. It's saying on the actual record that that's all you really need. If you go on a business course and get an A in everything, study all the books and know the information verbatim, but you don't have the instincts."
We don't doubt that it's going to be huge, and Fiddy is the first to admit the humbling experiencing of finding fame here in the UK. It's a stepping stone on the path to greatness - one that he saw trodden by friend and collaborator Eminem, and one that he demanded he take a long, hard run at himself.
"When you actually go to the UK, that is the first stop where you feel like you've made it," smiles Fiddy. "That's where you say 'I am an international recording artist'. It's all on different levels. Sure, some guys are coming out and performing in nightclubs, and others are in stadiums and arenas all over the place. When I got there, that was really where it was like 'this is it'. That was the impact that Em had with the Marshall Mathers LP. I was like 'I want that'.
"Em is so special to our culture and no one really gives him the credit for it. When they cast a film, they find people who are representations of the audience watching, so when you understand who's actually consuming hip-hop culture, it's not the guy who's in my neighbourhood, it's Little America and way beyond that too. They weren't sure who they actually liked, but when you asked them if they liked hip-hop, they would all say Eminem."
So will we be seeing 50 Cent performing on UK soil any time soon?
"Yeah, I'd like to soon," he says. "I think Em is going to be doing something at Wembley. I'll see what's going on and see if I can get in on that.
"Outside of Eminem, I'm the largest artist in hip-hop culture in terms of actual touring. I've been places in open markets and travelled to territories for over a decade. Jay (Z) has only really just started and grew quickly because of his association with Live Nation. If I get $120million from a company like LiveNation, they've got to keep me hot enough to make their money back."
And his advice to rappers trying to blaze the same trial as him, Eminem and Jay Z to bustle among those battling for the throne? Simple: "Be on your A game. Whenever we had to be in an environment that was really non-traditional, we had to show up and really put on a show."
And for 50 Cent, the show goes on, and on. His curtain call is a long way away.
Animal Ambition by 50 Cent is out now, with follow-up Street King Immortal due in September 2014.
