50 Cent's branding empire already includes energy shots, cologne and books, but his latest products are all about the music. The rapper was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week to promote his new line of headphones: the wireless Sync by 50, the wired Street by 50 and the soon-to-be-released Street by 50 wired ear buds. The audio products, he told The Times during an interview at the Las Vegas Convention Center, are "an extension of my passion for music."
"I'll spend 30 or 40 minutes when I'm really inspired and have an idea, and the song will be done. And then we'll spend a week making sure it sounds right afterwards," he said. "Then to have it go out to the general public and them listen to it on things that don't actually allow them to hear it with the same qualities –- not so cool. So I want to try to be a part of [how] they consume it the right way. And maybe they'll feel like I'm as good as I think I am, when they hear it that way." Both headphones are already available in stores and online after a soft launch during the holiday season.
The $400 Sync by 50, which 50 Cent was wearing around his neck during our interview as "a fashion statement," promises to give users "crystal-clear wireless sound" up to 50 feet away and the ability to sync as many as four pairs of headphones to a single audio source. The headphones are professionally tuned and feature 40-mm drivers, 16-bit lossless digital sound and on-board controls with bass boost, volume control and mute.
The Street by 50 headphones are priced at $300 and feature professional studio sound, enhanced bass, soft memory foam cushions, passive noise cancellation and a detachable cord. The ear buds, expected to be launched later this year, have a professionally tuned 11-mm driver and an ergonomically designed Apple control mic with volume control and reinforced cables. The wires on the ear buds are flat, which 50 Cent said prevented tangling. They are expected to cost $130.
The products are made by 50 Cent's SMS Audio; he created the company and is its chief executive. Down the line, he said, SMS Audio will expand its offerings to include home audio systems, professional audio equipment, speakers, iPod docks and DJ headsets.
"I love music," he said. "Why would I not want to make the best possible way to hear it?"
The celebrity headphone market has taken off in recent years, led by the Beats by Dr. Dre line. Dr. Dre was in Las Vegas for CES, as were Ludacris and "Jersey Shore" star Snooki -- both of them hyping headphones. 50 Cent signed autographs for fans Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at CES and said he was excited to check out the latest technology at the trade show.
"My girlfriend, in my office, she's a massage chair. She doesn't talk much, she just works," he said. "And I'm interested to go see what the new version of that does."