GlobalGrind caught up with the funny and creative Sacha Jenkins, executive producer of 50 Cent: The Origin of Me, a documentary exploring Queens, New York rapper and superstar businessman 50 Cent‘s lineage in the American South.
The documentary airs tonight at 9 PM on VH1 and is a must see for everyone interested in the rapper and American history as it relates to slavery, as well as 50 Cent’s journey in contemporary music and society.
Jenkins, also from Queens, New York, is no stranger to media, having founded and published magazines and books about hip hop culture and graffiti, beginning with egotrip magazine and its subsequent books on race and music.
After his work and his colleague’s work on the second ego trip book, Jenkins produced TV shows about race and music for VH1, shows like ego trip’s “The White Rapper Show,” ego trip’s “Miss Rap Supreme” and “TV’s Illest Minority Moments” presented by ego trip.
A champion of graffiti art and culture, Jenkins is co-author of “PieceBook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers,” “Piece Book: Reloaded,” and the forthcoming “World Piece” with fellow graffiti proponent David Villorente for SHR Airlines, Jenkin’s imprint with Prestel Books.
On the eve of the premiere of 50 Cent: The Origin of Me, Jenkins spoke to us via email about the program and his experience producing it. Here’s some of what was said.
How did the idea for the documentary come about?
David Kamp, a staff writer at Vanity Fair, did the initial research of 50 and his lineage. Camp did it all in an effort to develop a series that explores genealogy and more. In time, Vh1 would approach me as a producer because I’d produced a television series with 50 in the past. Turns out Vh1 had already worked with the production company I’m with, so all the stars lined up quite nicely. Race and hip-hop and race in hop-hop are themes that I’ve explored via books and television programs in the past, so this project brings together my interests in a very dynamic way.
Above: Sacha Jenkins in an undated photograph.
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How long did it take to make 50 Cent: The Origin of Me?
As far as time with 50, we had less than a week to pull it all off, shooting between New York City and Edgefield, South Carolina. There was a lot of scouting and research involved, which put us in the best possible position to maximize our time and put 50 in the most engaging environments possible. To his credit, 50 was very open to what we exposed him to and he didn’t shy away from some pretty intense realities. So yes, a lot of research on the front end and a lot of editing on the back end, but less than a week to get it all in the can.
Will this become a series on Vh1?
David Kamp’s original notion ― to make a series out of these explorations ― is still the hope. It’s difficult to get programming that says something on TV and I feel honored to have been a part of that with this program. The candy-ass shit has a place on television; people want to tune out with loud shows that exploit people who are dim-witted, who are crass, who have a warped sense of self, who are willing to play themselves in ways that PLAY THEMSELVES. I get it. But let’s also bet on intelligence, let’s also step up hip-hop’s consciousness, let’s talk about what’s wrong in an effort to get right. I hope people tune in. Tune in or wind up having serious beef with G Unit. Word up. 50 will roll up on you with the Census and a phone book and he’ll drop ’em on your forehead real hard if you don’t TUNE IN.
Above: Video still of Sacha Jenkins.
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What was the most surprising thing you learned about 50 Cent?
What I find interesting ― and what I think viewers will find interesting ― is how humble 50 is. He’s so humble and engaged in his personal search that you wind up forgetting that he’s the dude who got shot nine times, who used to go hand-to-hand with crack sales on the streets of South Jamaica, Queens.
I don’t think many artists of his caliber ― both hip-hop or otherwise ― would be as candid as he was. I think folks are gonna walk away with an entirely different take on Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
What was the most challenging thing you learned while making the program?
The most challenging aspect of the doc was figuring out what to cut out. There are scenes that we believed would add great editorial value to the piece, but we had to snip to make it all fit on the small screen. With that said, I think we are able to deliver a portrait of a megastar who was suddenly caught up in a real-life time machine and we were able to take that trip and discover as he did when he did. But this ain’t no “Land of the Lost!”
Above: Sacha Jenkins at a New York art gallery in the mid 2ks.
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A preview of “50 Cent: The Origin of Me” on VH1.
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50 Cent in April at a party he hosted for “Scream 4.”
