Murder Dem: 50 Cent Channels Ninjaman on “Murder One”

Words by Spliffington—

A reinvigorated 50 Cent hopped back to life yesterday, reverting back to the old cross hangry miserable 50 we know and love with the new mixtape, The Lost Tape. One track in particular, “Murder One,” grabbed our attention and not because of Eminem’s cameo, or the beat from Araab Muzik. After being exhorted by Eminem to “go back to doin’ the shit you used to do” on the intro, 50 gets things going with a lyrical assault (“Murder dem, murder dem…) originated by, and co-opted from, the Don Gorgon Ninjaman, on the classic boasting track “Murder Them.”

50 is hardly the first rapper to mine one of Ninja’s most memorable flows. Everyone from Foxy Brown on “Come Fly With Me,” Jeru da Damaja, on his Bounty Killer collab, “Suicide Or Murder,” Nicki Minaj (“Click Clack”), Lil Wayne (“This is Why I’m Hot Freestyle”) and Lil Kim have murdered us with similarly fashioned bites. Pras of the Fugees even jacked Ninja’s flow for a “Murder Dem” of his own. Of course, those are just a few among many examples of Ninjaman lyrics popping up in hip-hop.  Check out how 50 flips it on “Murder One,” and download the full Lost Tape here.