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Rotimi Says 50 Cent Debt Beef Was Real

"I honestly think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day..."

Singer and actor Rotimi was the latest guest on BET's Black Coffee, and along with promoting his new music, the star was sure to address his "debt" to rapper 50 Cent.

Last month, Fifty took to social media to call out his Power co-star for an alleged $300,000 that the rapper says Rotimi owed him. It all started shortly after the "Love Riddim" singer announced he'd topped the charts with his latest single, while further boasting he'd recently purchased a new home in cash.

It didn't take long before Fifty hopped on social media to call out Rotimi as the latest person on his alleged list of debtors, to which not only did Rotimi respond, but also claimed that he swiftly paid.

The multitalented artist sat down with hosts Marc Lamont HillGia Peppers and Jameer Long to discuss how the whole ordeal went down.

"So basically, I was signed to 50 as an artist. If you're in the music business or have knowledge of how it works, if someone believes in you, they give you a budget to work your project. So what happened was, [Fif] didn't agree on the single. He felt like another song off my project, "Walk with Me," was going to be the single."

Rotimi then revealed that instead of going with Fif's suggested song choice, he decided to go with his gut, and choose his single instead.

"I said, 'Let me bet on myself, I think 'Love Riddim' is the one.' 

The singer then went on to explain that around the the time of the song's release, he was in the process of getting out of his music contract with the producer and rapper, and had made arrangements with Fif for future payments.

"We worked it out where the mechanicals would be paid. So basically, the royalties that you make off of your project, that's how he gets paid back. It's not necessarily the sales off of it. But the man is a marketing genius, and he's dope at what he does," the actor admitted.

"I honestly think, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day, because we had already discussed [how payments would get back to him]. But he seen that I bought a house. The record is number one. So he was like, 'Oh, he could pay it back right [now]! I'm not waiting for mechanicals. Pay it back right now!'

We talked days before and [50 told me] like, 'Man, I'm proud of you.' But again, he's a different breed of beast. And you know Fifty, you know how it is."

When the cast asked Rotimi whether or not the feud was a marketing ploy, or in fact the real deal, the actor confirmed the latter, while also reassuring fans that him and Fif are good.

Rotimi and the panel on BET's Black Coffee.
Rotimi and the panel on BET's Black Coffee.

"It was a real situation, to a certain extent. He's a marketing genius. But it's also not that I owed him bread. He also knew what [he was doing]. That's my brother. We're good. He's just different. He's a different breed. So he does things that can help you, but it you're not smart enough, can hurt you."

Fifty also took to his own social media last week to confirm that he and the star are indeed good, while wishing Ro and his family "the best," and positive vibes.

Check out the full epsiode clip to hear more on the story, as well as find out Rotimi's future on the finale season of Power.

Tune into BET's Black Coffee live every weekday at 10am EST on the official BET Youtube!

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