RAP BEEF TIMELINE · 1998–2014
50 Cent vs. Fredro Starr
“React,” “How to Rob,” and the Vibe Awards scuffle
Fredro Starr and Onyx give a young 50 Cent an early commercial placement on “React,” before 50’s “How to Rob” calls out Onyx member Sticky Fingaz. The tension later reaches a brief, security-broken scuffle involving Fredro at the 2003 Vibe Awards, then settles into conflicting media recollections rather than an extended campaign.
THE RECORD
The moments
Music industry
Onyx brings 50 Cent onto “React”
Jam Master Jay introduces the young 50 Cent to Onyx’s circle, and the group features him on “React.” Fredro Starr later describes the appearance as an early major commercial opportunity for 50 before the two artists fall out.
“Jam Master Jay brought 50 to the studio... we put him on ‘React’ to give him his first big shot.”Fredro Starr, later recollection
▶ Watch Onyx feat. 50 Cent — “React”Diss track
“How to Rob” names Sticky Fingaz
50 Cent’s satirical breakout single imagines robbing high-profile artists and includes an Onyx-directed line aimed at Sticky Fingaz. The record becomes the first public spark in the broader tension between 50 and the Onyx camp.
“Tell Sticky give me the cash, MP3 / I beat your ass like that white boy on MTV.”50 Cent, “How to Rob”
▶ Watch 50 Cent — “How to Rob”Physical altercation · disputed account
A Vibe Awards backstage confrontation is broken up
At the 2003 Vibe Awards in Santa Monica, Fredro Starr and 50 Cent are reported to have a brief backstage scuffle before security intervenes. Later recollections differ on who initiated it and what happened in the split second before it ended.
“50 Cent basically started shit with me, started a scuffle, and a bodyguard broke us up.”Fredro Starr, later recollection
Read the receipt ↗Interview
Radio and VladTV recollections leave the conflict in the past
Fredro revisits the awards-night incident in Breakfast Club and VladTV appearances, then says he is over it. 50 answers separately by dismissing the account; neither follows with a new dedicated diss record, leaving the case dormant.
“There’s nothing to talk about. Everything between us is in the past. We’re about the future.”Fredro Starr, VladTV interview
▶ Watch Fredro Starr’s VladTV interview
THE RECEIPTS
Sources and listening
Onyx feat. 50 Cent — “React” ↗50 Cent — “How to Rob” ↗BET — 50 Cent talks Ja Rule and Fredro Starr fights ↗Fredro Starr discusses the 50 Cent conflict on VladTV ↗ARTIST LENSES