Taylor Swift has delivered a nod to hip-hop royalty, and 50 Cent couldn’t contain his excitement.
On Friday, Oct. 3, the 14-time Grammy winner released her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, which features a surprise mention of the “Candy Shop” rapper, born Curtis Jackson. Swift, 35, name-checks 50 Cent on the album’s sixth track, Ruin the Friendship.
The song delves into themes of unrequited love and regret, painting a poignant story around a crush whose fate takes a tragic turn. Within the chorus, Swift reflects on a memory she wishes she could rewrite—and it’s there that 50 Cent makes his cameo.
“And it was not an invitation / But as the 50 Cent song played / Should’ve kissed you anyway / And it was not convenient, no / Would’ve been the best mistake / Should’ve kissed you anyway, hey-ey,” she sings, weaving the rapper into a moment of personal nostalgia.
50 Cent took to Instagram the same day to share his delight, pairing his post with the album’s cover art. “@taylorswift s— is popping right now,” he wrote. “
She shout me out, 
she don’t shout you out. LOL 
THIS IS FOR BIG TIMERS ONLY! @50centaction wait I’m the only shout out
The rapper’s excitement underscores the cultural weight of being the lone figure name-dropped on Swift’s highly anticipated project, cementing a crossover moment between pop and hip-hop in an album that’s already generating buzz for its candid storytelling.
While Taylor Swift has not fully explained the inspiration behind Ruin the Friendship, fans have speculated the track may be about Jeffrey Lang, who died at age 21 on Nov. 2, 2010. Early speculation, based solely on the song title, had some assuming it would reflect a strained bond with Blake Lively. At the time, a source told media outlets in August that the longtime friends “aren’t speaking,” amid the actress’s ongoing lawsuit with It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
Swift and Lang attended Hendersonville High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, before she left to pursue her music career. Following his death in 2010, the singer paid tribute to her late friend at the BMI Country Awards in Nashville, honoring his memory publicly just days later.
50 Cent has been a long-time supporter of Swift. In 2009, he famously came to her defense when Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech at the VMAs. Speaking to MuchOnDemand at the time, 50 Cent, 48, said that if West had taken the award from Swift, he would have “black[ed] his eye in front of everybody.”
“Even an apology can’t replace what it feels like for the very first time receiving that award. In Taylor Swift‘s head, ‘My first award was Kanye West.’ It’s damaging,” he added.
Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, is now available.
on the whole album. 
”
