50 Cent recounts negotiating a deal with Steve Jobs for the 1st iPod placement in the “P.I.M.P” vide.
From the “P.I.M.P” video to being a brand found in essentially everyone’s household, Apple’s iPod revolutionized music. In the height the mp3 era, iPod’s aesthetic and ability to store thousands songs shifted the world technology and music for the better.
Though it would later transform into the iPhone and iPod Touch, 50 Cent knew it was special when he first encountered Steve Jobs. In a recent interview with Ari Melber, Fif recounted meeting Steve Jobs for the first time when the late Apple founder was spending the weekend with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
“The whole weekend, he sat there. The first time I sat there, I went in there 10 minutes before. I told him, ‘Let me see that.’ They gave it to me, I said, ‘What is this called? This called an iPod? How much songs you said this hold?'” Fif recounted. “Jimmy will tell you in that 10 minutes I sat there, I got him to give me $150k… The first time Apple did a placement in anything — in any music video — was ‘P.I.M.P.'”
Though the underlying message in this is that 50 Cent essentially finessed Steve Jobs into giving him $150K for a quick 15-second placement in the music video, it clearly worked out well for both parties.
Check the clip 50 Cent speaking to Ari Melber below HHNM.