When my mom found the CD to 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin’ on my bedroom floor, she picked up the phone and called my dad.
“There’s a picture of a gangster wearing a bandana and a bulletproof vest! And there’s a bullet hole on the case!”
She wasn’t wrong. But she wasn't right either.
It wasn’t a bandana. It was a durag. And it wasn’t a bulletproof vest. It was a Gucci shoulder holster. 50 wasn’t even wearing a shirt.
But the message was clear. 50 Cent wasn't just another rapper. He was a gangsta.
What struck me was her dramatic reaction. The same album cover that felt iconic to my friends was offensive to my mom. That collision stuck with me.
Since then, I've seen it play out again and again in other great works. The push and pull between attraction and rejection. I think that tension is what provokes a reaction.
That's the kind of work I admire. Work people respond to, whether they like it or not.
It's not enough for ads to be "interesting." That word is often a placeholder when people aren't sure what to think or how to feel. The work I care about is never lukewarm. You can love it or hate it. But you'll never be confused about what it's saying.
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