It doesn’t seem like a big thing, a major artist leaving his record deal after more than a decade relationship. People grow, things change and circumstances often dictate changing where one does business. This is not the case for 50 Cent and his departure from Jimmy Iovine’s behemoth Interscope Records. To be sure, 50 Cent is a dinosaur of sorts navigating a new, somewhat unfamiliar landscape. His 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ broke sales records and firmly placed him amongst rap’s elite. I may be wrong on this, but, at least for my adolescent self, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ seemed to be the last major, MTV-fueled hip-hop album to really make a mark. Obviously, The College Dropout followed a year later, eventually pitting ‘Ye and 50 against each other in a sales battle upon the releases of Graduation and Curtis in 2007, which 50 was beaten.

50 exiting the major label industry is a big deal. It leaves Eminem honestly as one of the last holdovers for the major label format that existed a decade ago, and that only because of his individual label, Shady, which 50 Cent was a part of. Back in 1999, with the advent of Napster, we saw the inklings of what the music industry would become, a business that is just now manifesting itself with Grammy award-winning acts not signed to a major and acts putting out free projects that reach the charts. 50’s decision to release his next project, Animal Ambition through Caroline, a distributorship owned by Universal. Similar to the deal Macklemore & Ryan Lewis employed with The Heist, albeit with a lot more of a budget thanks to smart business moves by Fiddy over the years. “I have had great success to date with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, and I’d like to thank Eminem and Dr. Dre for giving me an incredible opportunity,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “I’ve learned so much from them through the years. I am excited to enter this new era where I can carry out my creative vision.”

50 Cent’s independent debut will begin on June 3 with Animal Ambition, an unexpected turn for fans who expected the long-teased project Street King Immortal. “I recorded so many album-quality songs that I’m going to put the Animal project out as my viral marketing plan and then [Street King] will come out after,” he explained at a recent press conference. “[Animal Ambition] is about prosperity … ambition and prosperity.”

Check out the video for 50’s new song “The Funeral,” released today, below.

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