Hold On

Album: Animal Ambition (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first single from 50's Animal Ambition album features laid-back, soulful production influenced by the 1980s rap duo EPMD. "I wrote it, and at the time, I'll be honest I was listening to 'You Gots To Chill' by EPMD," he told MTV News.

    "I was looking for something to match the tempo and energy that was there, because these are the things that I fell in love with when I was actually falling in love with hip-hop," 50 added. "I'm looking for something to mirror that because it's far away from what is actually going on right now in the culture."
  • Unlike EPMD's rhymes urging the listener to chill out, we hear 50 spitting some typically braggadocio lyrics along with some baiting of his one-time foe James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, who got sentenced to life on October 25, 2013 for trafficking drugs.
  • 50 Cent explained to MTV News regarding his Animal Ambition album and its lead single: "Overall, the project is about prosperity. The first joint I put out was 'Hold On,' and it's about the envy or jealousy connected to doing too well in front of people in the environment I grew up in."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Shawn Mullins

Shawn MullinsSongwriter Interviews

"Lullaby" singer Shawn Mullins on "Beautiful Wreck," beating the Devil, and his writing credit on the Zac Brown Band song "Toes."

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?