The Meaning of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club”
50 Cent’s “In Da Club” was the breakout hit for the rapper, released as the lead single from his major label debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Released three years after he was infamously shot nine times and survived, “In Da Club” marked the beginning of a new phase for 50 Cent, placing him firmly in the spotlight as one of the most famous rappers of the 2000s.
“In Da Club” was a number one hit single, and it (the clean version) as all over the radio in 2003. You couldn’t escape it. Today, it is regarded as a classic, and it remains in frequent rotation at birthday parties and throwback sets at night clubs everywhere.
Today, I’m going to analyze the lyrics to “In Da Club” and get to the bottom of what 50 Cent was saying with this iconic song.
“In Da Club” Lyrics Meaning
Intro
Go, go
Intro to “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
Go, go, go, go
Go, shawty, it’s your birthday
We gon’ party like it’s your birthday
We gon’ sip Bacardà like it’s your birthday
And you know we don’t give a fuck it’s not your birthday
Everybody knows this intro, to the point where now hearing it is likely to get some millennials real hyped up in the right atmosphere. Not just millennials, either, but the vast majority of them will recognize it.
As for the line about the birthday, 50 Cent explained in 2023 that it wasn’t directed at anyone in particular:
In the above clip, 50 says that it’s just representing the most feel-good, freeing time when a group of girls would get together and hit the club, hence why he chose the line.
Chorus
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub’
Chorus to “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
Look, mami, I got the X if you into takin’ drugs
I’m into havin’ sex, I ain’t into makin’ love
So come give me a hug if you into gettin’ rubbed
You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub’
Look, mami, I got the X if you into takin’ drugs
I’m into havin’ sex, I ain’t into makin’ love
So come give me a hug if you into gettin’ rubbed
He’s in the club with a bottle of champagne, and he’s letting the ladies know that he’s carrying ecstasy, if they’d like some. He wants to get laid, and he’s not looking for a relationship. So if that sounds good to the women listening, they should come give him a hug.
Pretty self-explanatory. And explicit.
Verse One
When I pull up out front, you see the Benz on dubs (Uh-huh)
First verse to “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
When I roll twenty deep, it’s twenty nines in the club (Yeah)
N****s heard I fuck with Dre, now they wanna show me love
When you sell like Eminem, then the hoes, they wanna fuck (Woo)
Look homie, ain’t nothin’ changed, hoes down, G’s up
I see Xzibit in the cut, hey, n****a, roll that weed up (Roll that)
If you watch how I move, you’ll mistake me for a player or pimp
Been hit with a few shells, but I don’t walk with a limp (I’m aight)
In the hood in L.A., they sayin’, “50, you hot” (Uh-huh)
They like me, I want ’em to love me like they love Pac
But holla in New York, the n****s’ll tell you I’m loco (Yeah)
And the plan is to put the rap game in a chokehold (Uh-huh)
I’m fully focused, man, my money on my mind
Got a mil’ out the deal and I’m still on the grind (Woo)
Now shawty said she feelin’ my style, she feelin’ my flow (Uh-huh)
Her girlfriend with her, they bi and they ready to go (Okay)
50 Cent discusses pulling up to the club with 20 of his friends. People heard about how Dr. Dre produced his album, Eminem discovered him and now they want to love him, even when they hated before. This is a classic theme of haters, who initially talk down only to try and ride the wave later on.
Then he mentions being shot, discusses how he’s well known in Los Angeles but he wont stop until he’s loved like Tupac out there. He says in New York they know he’s crazy, and he’s fully determined to reach his goals of achieving success on both the East Coast and West Coast. Two hip-hop strongholds that historically had a lot of beef.
It’s back to the party after that, and he’s off with two bisexual women who also happen to be interested in his style and flow.
The chorus repeats again, and then it’s the bridge.
Bridge
My flow, my show brought me the dough
Bridge to “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
That bought me all my fancy things
My crib, my cars, my clothes, my jewels
Look, n****a, I done came up and I ain’t changed (What? What? Yeah)
He talks about how his skills at rapping got him to this level of fame, and says that he made it this far and he hasn’t changed. This seems like another reference to his past, suggesting that he’s still as hard as he’s ever been.
Verse Two
And you should love it way more than you hate it
Second verse to “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
N****a, you mad? I thought that you’d be happy I made it (Woo)
I’m that cat by the bar toastin’ to the good life
You that f****t-ass n****a tryna pull me back, right?
When my joint get to bumpin’ in the club, it’s on
I wink my eye at your bitch, if she smiles, she gone
If the roof on fire, let the motherfucker burn
If you talkin’ about money, homie, I ain’t concerned
I’ma tell you what Banks told me, “Cuz, go ‘head, switch the style up
If n****s hate, then let ’em hate, and watch the money pile up”
Or we can go upside your head with a bottle of bub’
They know where we fuckin’ be
The second verse is again about the haters, but he’s not to worried about it, because he’s living the good life. He won’t hesitate to steal a hater’s girl, and if she smiles when he winks at her, it’s going down.
There’s the famous line in this which was later used by Kanye West, in “Good Life” (2007): “If they hate then let em hate and watch the money pile up.” This lyric is iconic. The “Banks” that 50 Cent refers to is Lloyd Banks, a fellow member of his G-Unit collective.
However, if 50 Cent decides not to take the advice off his buddy Banks, he’s not afraid to smack a hater in the side of the head with a bottle of champagne. Ultimately, 50 Cent reminds of us his power and his lack of fear due to a brush with death, and warns haters not to mess with him too much. Just because he’s having a good time now, doesn’t mean he won’t get down to business if he’s got to.
Watch the music video for “In Da Club” by 50 Cent below.
50 Cent – “In Da Club” Music Video
Directed by Phillip Atwell, the video for “In Da Club” was nearly as iconic as the song itself, as it featured cameos from Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Xzibit. It opens with 50 Cent being dropped off at the “Shady/Aftermath Artist Development Center.” Clips of him working out are interspaced with clips of him in the club, post success.
Not only does it paint Eminem and Dr. Dre as the masterminds behind 50 Cent’s rise to fame, it also ties in the rapper’s personal story of literally overcoming physical adversities and surviving getting shot nine times, to become one of the most famous rappers of his generation. It won Best Rap Video at the 2003 MTV video awards.