 I'm Adrienne Jeffers with The Verge. We're here at CES 2014 with 50 Cent. Hi, 50 Cent. How's your 2014 going so far? It's going great, man. It's an amazing experience being out here. I get a chance to walk around. It's like looking at tomorrow. Yeah? Yeah. And you've been at CES for how many years now? Three years. Three years. This is your third year or this is your fourth year? This is my fourth, but it's the third year that I've actually had product out in the stores and... Okay....and roll out. I'm curious, how have things changed? Has it gotten bigger? Yeah. Well, for me, it's... My space in CES is growing because it's getting bigger. So you're getting bigger. Yeah. I feel good. CES is getting smaller. Either that or they just made the area smaller. Do you do a lot of people... Do you spend a lot of time in the booth? I do. Well, inside my actual booth, when I come in, I do interviews. So I'm here for the last two years. I pretty much saw everybody I had to see before I left. There was a lot of press and publicity before I left. Yeah. And I was curious, when you come to CES, do you just kind of do press or do you also do like deal making and meeting distributors? Yeah. Well, that's a part of it. They'll call me in and out of those meetings. Okay. In the beginning, I do it initially just to help people understand that I'm actually the owner of the company and not just the face of it with an endorsement. Right. And that's hard because a lot of celebrities are walking around CES, some of them fly in and fly out immediately. And so you're actually one of the few who sticks around. Right. The difference when you've invested and you have ownership versus you actually... If you got a license, when you're getting paid royalties based on a product connected to you like this. So they'll be guaranteed 45 minutes. Come in, sign autographs, run out. So what made you want to actually make your own headphones as opposed to just put your face on somebody else's headphones? Like when you first launched, you did a partnership with Sleek Audio in 2011. And then that deal, what happened? It was my first attempt at creating SMS. And it didn't work out because the staffing that was involved in it. Like people make the mistake that they think they're not careful when you have a really high profile and you get involved with people who are knowledgeable in the tech area, but not the business portion of it. Because that's what actually happened. They started to expand the staff and stuff like that without sales expanding at the same time. So they knew the tech, but they didn't know the business side of it. Right. So you felt like you needed to run everything. Yeah, it was the wrong opportunity. And then later I acquired Kono Audio to create SMS Audio. It's already a functional company and profitable. So the staff had already gelled together and it was the right thing to execute this. So here at CES where gadgets get very high end and you kind of have headphones made for this, headphones made for that, I'm wondering as a musician, what do you think is the perfect set of headphones? What are the qualities you look for? Well, I mean, it depends on what I'm doing, to be honest, because the different functionalities is the only way that they're actually different. There's some headsets that are exactly the same size and they're just not the same quality with everything else that's been put into it. Because I focused on durability, I broke so many of them in the past. Really? Yeah. Is that because you got mad and you were recording and throw it on the floor? No, just in the bag and running around and shuffling. You look in the airport, the plane may move with your headset in it and it's done. Because I focused on durability, we created a polyurethane with a nylon texture inside it that makes it a lot harder to break than the other headsets. You got a 40mm driver in them. The sports edition of Street by 50 has waterproofing. A lot of people don't realize why the actual gadgets are breaking. Even when your phone goes out of whack on the touch screen, it's because of moisture over time. Well, you don't have to worry about that in Las Vegas. It's dry. I was wondering if I could ask you about some of the stuff at CES this year. I know you've been really busy and you haven't seen all of it, but there are a couple trends that have come out of the show and I wonder if you think they're going to stick around and whether you would invest. The first one is self-driving cars. Have you seen Audi or BMW self-driving cars? What do you think of that? I think it would be cool. I think it may cut those driving companies out. I've got to drive myself. Eventually, we can just tell the car where to go. You would go for that? You don't feel like you would miss driving? Yeah, I'd let the car drive me. I would. What would you do while the car was driving? All kinds of things. It would allow you the ability to do things that you couldn't do in the past. It would actually have to change. Well, that wouldn't happen. The law would never be a law that the texting or the other habits that our gadgets are giving us wouldn't actually be an issue anymore. Like texting while you're driving? Or driving and looking at your phone. Thumbs up for self-driving cars. What about curved televisions? Have you seen the Samsung curved TV? This could take a while before I'm into that. Not into it? Well, like last year, a lot of stuff was 3D, and I wasn't into that. I didn't feel like I had that. You called it right. They went nowhere. Yeah, but I just really got on. I like them getting thinner because now it feels like you're hanging a painting instead of the television. Yeah, it looks nice. With the curved television, I just have to have a specific space that it works right on. And then it would feel like the perfect place to put it because all the walls are flat for the flat screen. Yeah, okay. That makes sense. And the last thing I'm wondering about is e-cigarettes. Have you seen those around? Electric cigarettes? Yeah. I guess it'll help someone break the habit if they still used to, if they have something to do that with without nicotine in it. That would probably be the most helpful gadget. Would you ever use one yourself? An e-cigarette? Well, I don't actually smoke, so I would be using it for no reason. Well, the e-cig companies want you to start even if you are a smoker. Even if you don't smoke cigarettes? Yeah. They just want to sell it. Because it looks so cool. So cool that you should smoke a cigarette that doesn't have... Yeah. Nah, that won't happen. Okay. What about e-cigar? No. No. Okay. All right. Well, there you have 50 cents reviews of the technology trends of CS 2014. Would you go to a smoking lounge to smoke an e-cigar? There are vaping... I mean, like a regular one. There are like vapor e-cig lounges. There's one in Soho. You see people in there? All people. Yeah. It's really cool. It's the hot new thing in New York. Okay. You should check it out when you get back. I'm going to check it. I've seen... There's a lot of things I missed for a second. The Minecraft thing. Like, I didn't know what was going on with that. It looked like they didn't finish making it. Minecraft thing? Video game? Yeah. I just saw something. Did you play Minecraft? No, I just really got put on to it. Oh, okay. That's what it is. So you're going to start playing? I'm checking it out. I've never played it. You know? But a lot of people at the verge are very into it. People are talking about it. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. So I wonder if I could ask you about social media because there was a story about you a couple days ago where you put on Instagram some photos of...some cute photos of your baby son and then you took them down. I wonder what you think of Instagram and social media. Does it tempt people to share too much? Well, I think technology is going to take away privacy completely. Really? Yeah. Like, your Google Glass is the guy that just wants a photo for his social networking, takes a picture of you at the urinal. Right. Because he tells the glasses to take the picture. Like, that's... Yeah. And you have no idea. No, but it's... Until you see it on the internet later. See it on his Instagram later. Yeah. Later. So it's like it'll be...everything will be out. And I think it's important to try and stay as close to as many people as possible, as far as your fan base is concerned. I use my social networking to entertain them. It's not like me showing you what I had to eat. Right. And... Because people use it completely differently. They show you their lifestyle. But there's... Trying to... Right. So I look at mine and my Instagram may even look like it's a fake one because it's things that I put up. Mm-hmm. Not things...photos of me. I see. So you share jokes and that... Right....means and that kind of thing. Through the Instagram stuff. But I'm sure there are lots of people who care what you're eating because you're 50 Cent. Yeah, but I mean... That's a lot... A lot of stuff is boring. Like, I think if... Like, I wouldn't really care. Like, if you're comfortable, there's so many other things for us to talk about than what you had for lunch today. Mm-hmm. You know, like... When's the last time that your friend had a conversation with you and said, hey, how you doing? Is it, what did you have for lunch today? Right. Not... I can't remember the last time I had lunch. Yeah, it's like... But now I'm curious, what did you have for lunch today? I didn't have lunch. Oh, no. Why not? I skipped it. So there would be no photograph there. It's a blank spot in my social network. Well, you should eat lunch after this. Well, thank you so much for coming. Thanks for having me. This is 50 Cent Live on the Verge.
 I'm Adrienne Jeffers with The Verge.
 We're here at CES 2014 with 50 Cent.
 Hi, 50 Cent.
 How's your 2014 going so far?
 It's going great, man.
 It's an amazing experience being out here.
 I get a chance to walk around.
 It's like looking at tomorrow.
 Yeah?
 Yeah.
 And you've been at CES for how many years now?
 Three years.
 Three years.
 This is your third year or this is your fourth year?
 This is my fourth, but it's the third year that I've actually had product out in the
 stores and...
 Okay.
...and roll out.
 I'm curious, how have things changed?
 Has it gotten bigger?
 Yeah.
 Well, for me, it's...
 My space in CES is growing because it's getting bigger.
 So you're getting bigger.
 Yeah.
 I feel good.
 CES is getting smaller.
 Either that or they just made the area smaller.
 Do you do a lot of people...
 Do you spend a lot of time in the booth?
 I do.
 Well, inside my actual booth, when I come in, I do interviews.
 So I'm here for the last two years.
 I pretty much saw everybody I had to see before I left.
 There was a lot of press and publicity before I left.
 Yeah.
 And I was curious, when you come to CES, do you just kind of do press or do you also do
 like deal making and meeting distributors?
 Yeah.
 Well, that's a part of it.
 They'll call me in and out of those meetings.
 Okay.
 In the beginning, I do it initially just to help people understand that I'm actually the
 owner of the company and not just the face of it with an endorsement.
 Right.
 And that's hard because a lot of celebrities are walking around CES, some of them fly in
 and fly out immediately.
 And so you're actually one of the few who sticks around.
 Right.
 The difference when you've invested and you have ownership versus you actually...
 If you got a license, when you're getting paid royalties based on a product connected
 to you like this.
 So they'll be guaranteed 45 minutes.
 Come in, sign autographs, run out.
 So what made you want to actually make your own headphones as opposed to just put your
 face on somebody else's headphones?
 Like when you first launched, you did a partnership with Sleek Audio in 2011.
 And then that deal, what happened?
 It was my first attempt at creating SMS.
 And it didn't work out because the staffing that was involved in it.
 Like people make the mistake that they think they're not careful when you have a really
 high profile and you get involved with people who are knowledgeable in the tech area, but
 not the business portion of it.
 Because that's what actually happened.
 They started to expand the staff and stuff like that without sales expanding at the same
 time.
 So they knew the tech, but they didn't know the business side of it.
 Right.
 So you felt like you needed to run everything.
 Yeah, it was the wrong opportunity.
 And then later I acquired Kono Audio to create SMS Audio.
 It's already a functional company and profitable.
 So the staff had already gelled together and it was the right thing to execute this.
 So here at CES where gadgets get very high end and you kind of have headphones made for
 this, headphones made for that, I'm wondering as a musician, what do you think is the perfect
 set of headphones?
 What are the qualities you look for?
 Well, I mean, it depends on what I'm doing, to be honest, because the different functionalities
 is the only way that they're actually different.
 There's some headsets that are exactly the same size and they're just not the same quality
 with everything else that's been put into it.
 Because I focused on durability, I broke so many of them in the past.
 Really?
 Yeah.
 Is that because you got mad and you were recording and throw it on the floor?
 No, just in the bag and running around and shuffling.
 You look in the airport, the plane may move with your headset in it and it's done.
 Because I focused on durability, we created a polyurethane with a nylon texture inside
 it that makes it a lot harder to break than the other headsets.
 You got a 40mm driver in them.
 The sports edition of Street by 50 has waterproofing.
 A lot of people don't realize why the actual gadgets are breaking.
 Even when your phone goes out of whack on the touch screen, it's because of moisture
 over time.
 Well, you don't have to worry about that in Las Vegas.
 It's dry.
 I was wondering if I could ask you about some of the stuff at CES this year.
 I know you've been really busy and you haven't seen all of it, but there are a couple trends
 that have come out of the show and I wonder if you think they're going to stick around
 and whether you would invest.
 The first one is self-driving cars.
 Have you seen Audi or BMW self-driving cars?
 What do you think of that?
 I think it would be cool.
 I think it may cut those driving companies out.
 I've got to drive myself.
 Eventually, we can just tell the car where to go.
 You would go for that?
 You don't feel like you would miss driving?
 Yeah, I'd let the car drive me.
 I would.
 What would you do while the car was driving?
 All kinds of things.
 It would allow you the ability to do things that you couldn't do in the past.
 It would actually have to change.
 Well, that wouldn't happen.
 The law would never be a law that the texting or the other habits that our gadgets are giving
 us wouldn't actually be an issue anymore.
 Like texting while you're driving?
 Or driving and looking at your phone.
 Thumbs up for self-driving cars.
 What about curved televisions?
 Have you seen the Samsung curved TV?
 This could take a while before I'm into that.
 Not into it?
 Well, like last year, a lot of stuff was 3D, and I wasn't into that.
 I didn't feel like I had that.
 You called it right.
 They went nowhere.
 Yeah, but I just really got on.
 I like them getting thinner because now it feels like you're hanging a painting instead
 of the television.
 Yeah, it looks nice.
 With the curved television, I just have to have a specific space that it works right
 on.
 And then it would feel like the perfect place to put it because all the walls are flat for
 the flat screen.
 Yeah, okay.
 That makes sense.
 And the last thing I'm wondering about is e-cigarettes.
 Have you seen those around?
 Electric cigarettes?
 Yeah.
 I guess it'll help someone break the habit if they still used to, if they have something
 to do that with without nicotine in it.
 That would probably be the most helpful gadget.
 Would you ever use one yourself?
 An e-cigarette?
 Well, I don't actually smoke, so I would be using it for no reason.
 Well, the e-cig companies want you to start even if you are a smoker.
 Even if you don't smoke cigarettes?
 Yeah.
 They just want to sell it.
 Because it looks so cool.
 So cool that you should smoke a cigarette that doesn't have...
 Yeah.
 Nah, that won't happen.
 Okay.
 What about e-cigar?
 No.
 No.
 Okay.
 All right.
 Well, there you have 50 cents reviews of the technology trends of CS 2014.
 Would you go to a smoking lounge to smoke an e-cigar?
 There are vaping...
 I mean, like a regular one.
 There are like vapor e-cig lounges.
 There's one in Soho.
 You see people in there?
 All people.
 Yeah.
 It's really cool.
 It's the hot new thing in New York.
 Okay.
 You should check it out when you get back.
 I'm going to check it.
 I've seen...
 There's a lot of things I missed for a second.
 The Minecraft thing.
 Like, I didn't know what was going on with that.
 It looked like they didn't finish making it.
 Minecraft thing?
 Video game?
 Yeah.
 I just saw something.
 Did you play Minecraft?
 No, I just really got put on to it.
 Oh, okay.
 That's what it is.
 So you're going to start playing?
 I'm checking it out.
 I've never played it.
 You know?
 But a lot of people at the verge are very into it.
 People are talking about it.
 Yeah.
 Yeah.
 Cool.
 So I wonder if I could ask you about social media because there was a story about you
 a couple days ago where you put on Instagram some photos of...some cute photos of your baby
 son and then you took them down.
 I wonder what you think of Instagram and social media.
 Does it tempt people to share too much?
 Well, I think technology is going to take away privacy completely.
 Really?
 Yeah.
 Like, your Google Glass is the guy that just wants a photo for his social networking, takes
 a picture of you at the urinal.
 Right.
 Because he tells the glasses to take the picture.
 Like, that's...
 Yeah.
 And you have no idea.
 No, but it's...
 Until you see it on the internet later.
 See it on his Instagram later.
 Yeah.
 Later.
 So it's like it'll be...everything will be out.
 And I think it's important to try and stay as close to as many people as possible, as
 far as your fan base is concerned.
 I use my social networking to entertain them.
 It's not like me showing you what I had to eat.
 Right.
 And...
 Because people use it completely differently.
 They show you their lifestyle.
 But there's...
 Trying to...
 Right.
 So I look at mine and my Instagram may even look like it's a fake one because it's things
 that I put up.
 Mm-hmm.
 Not things...photos of me.
 I see.
 So you share jokes and that...
 Right.
...means and that kind of thing.
 Through the Instagram stuff.
 But I'm sure there are lots of people who care what you're eating because you're 50
 Cent.
 Yeah, but I mean...
 That's a lot...
 A lot of stuff is boring.
 Like, I think if...
 Like, I wouldn't really care.
 Like, if you're comfortable, there's so many other things for us to talk about than what
 you had for lunch today.
 Mm-hmm.
 You know, like...
 When's the last time that your friend had a conversation with you and said, hey, how
 you doing?
 Is it, what did you have for lunch today?
 Right.
 Not...
 I can't remember the last time I had lunch.
 Yeah, it's like...
 But now I'm curious, what did you have for lunch today?
 I didn't have lunch.
 Oh, no.
 Why not?
 I skipped it.
 So there would be no photograph there.
 It's a blank spot in my social network.
 Well, you should eat lunch after this.
 Well, thank you so much for coming.
 Thanks for having me.
 This is 50 Cent Live on the Verge.