50 Cent Vs. Interscope

June 12, 2007. Music industry insiders were shocked a few weeks ago when Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson announced that the release of his third studio album Curtis would be pushed back three months. The official explanation for the delay was that it was a "necessary course of action ... to ensure the album's simultaneous worldwide release."

But one of MediaTakeOut.com's insiders at Interscope Records gave us the real deal on what happened. According to the insider, record company execs want 50 Cent to re-record at least five new tracks for the album. The insider explains, "The public didn't respond well to the first two singles [Amusement Park and Straight to the Bank] and people here got freaked out ... [One top executive] wants to make sure that there's at least one hit on the album. And he wasn't convinced by what he heard."

There's one big problem with this idea though. 50 Cent is refusing to do any more tracks unless Interscope coughs up significantly more money. The insider tells, "In [50]'s mind he's done with Curtis and he's moved on to [his next album] - which happens to be his last under contract [with Interscope]." Our snitch continues, "He's asking for an additional seven figures just to get him back in the studio."

And it looks like a showdown is brewing between 50 Cent and his record label. The tipster tells MediaTakeOut.com, "Right now everyone's still trying to stay clam, but the lawyers are getting involved - and you know what that means ... If it were anyone else [besides 50 Cent], I'd say that this whole thing could be worked out. But right now, I can't even begin to predict what's going to happen with that album."