Honestly, who would ever think that Macbeth by Willliam Shakespeare and Many

Men by 50 Cent would have so much in common!? One is a Scotish general who goes on a kill
spree in order to fulfill the prophecies and become king. The other a Hip Hop artist from Queens
NY who is involved in drugs, gangs and all kinds of illegal behavior. Even though they come
from such different worlds and times they do in fact have many things in common. Here are a
few examples of such similarities. Both men have enemies who want them dead and both
threaten and kill their enemies at one point or another. They both believe in the supernatural
and karma. They both believe that they are kings and should be kings. Lastly I believe that they
are both arrogant and full of themselves. They think l that they are untouchable and no one can
get to them. With that being said let’s take a look in more depth at both these men and their
similarities.
First in the song and the play we see that both men have enemies that they
want dead and enemies that want them dead. One of the people that becomes Macbeth’s
enemy is Banquo. In Act 3, Scene 1 when talking to the murderers he says “So is he mine, and
in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my near'st of life”. He also
tries to kill Fleance, Banquo’s because he fears that he will one day become king just like the
witches told him but Fleance gets away. On the other hand Macduff wants Macbeth dead
because first Macbeth killed his family and second he thinks Macbeth is a tyrant. In 50 Cents
song he writes “​Many men, wish death upon me Blood in my eye dog and I can't seeI'm trying to be 
what I'm destined to be and niggas trying to take my life away I put a hole in nigga for fucking with 
me. Show your ass what my gun do. Got a temper nigga, go 'head, lose your head. Turn your back on 
me, get clapped and lose your legs I walk around gun on waist, chip on my shoulder. Till I bust a clip 
in your face, pussy, this beef ain't over.” So in both cases we can see how revengefull they both are 
and how they would stop at nothing to eliminate the people that would get in their way of achieving 
their power.
Secondly as stated before they are both believers in the supernatural and karma. In Act
1, Scene 7 Macbeth refers to karma when he says ​“We still have judgement here; we but teach
bloody instruction, which being taught return to plague the inventor”. 50 Cents in turn
references the bible in one of his lyrics when he says “In the bible it says what goes around
comes around “hommo” shot me, three weeks later he got shot down” (50 cent, 2003). Another
words karma is either pleasant or painful depending on your action. There are also the witches
in Macbeth that prophecies he will be king in Act1, Scene 3 “Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All
hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” 50 Cents raps about his own hocus pocus when he
says “Psych says some bitch dumb, put a hex on me”. At the same time he says “Every night I
talk to god, but he don't say nothing back I know he protecting me, but I still stay with my gat.”
Now let’s talk about being king! Boy do they both think they should be one. 50
Cent clearly states “I'm the diamond in the dirt, that ain't been found I'm the underground king
and I ain't been crowned” . Macbeth also, when he realizes that the witche’s prophecy about
becoming king is coming true. “This supernatural soliciting,Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,
why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? If chance will have me king,
why, chance may crown me, without my stir.” They both think that they are so great and that
they both deserve all the glory and the power.
Lastly another common characteristic of both MacBeth and 50 Cent is how
arrogant and power hungry they both are. They both show throughout the play and song that
they believe to be stronger and above everybody else. 50 Cent towards the end claims to have
a higher purpose of being, when he says “Now it's clear that I'm here, for a real reason 'cause
he got hit like I got hit, but he ain't fucking breathing”. Meaning the other guy takes a bullet and
dies while 50 Cent is still alive. He even specifically says “Have mercy on many men” in
regards to the individuals who are after him. He’s life is threatened and he still hopes for
somebody to have mercy on them because no matter what they do to him, something worse
will happen to them. MacBeth on the other hand takes his power as King so far to his head that
he thinks he commands unnatural forces. In Act 4, Scene 1 he says “I will be satisfied. “Deny
me this, and an eternal curse falls on you! Let me know.” Talking of course about the witches
prophecy and how he must beware of MacDuff. He totally ignores what they say about MacDuff
and all he hears is that he will not be harmed by a man born from a woman so he believes he
is now untouchable. He is so full of himself that he dares to curse the witches that first told him
about becoming king. This shows how both MacBeth and 50 Cent think that they are better
than everyone else and that nothing can touch them.
In conclusion I think that it is fascinating how two people from such different worlds can
be so much the same. How their “hubris” personality took over their lives and in turn made them
do such unimaginable things. To get what they wanted they killed, they lied and stopped at
nothing. Even when they were terrorized by nightmares and guilt. At some point they both even
speak about how it would be better being dead. “Sunny days wouldn't be special, if it wasn't for
rain. Joy wouldn't feel so good, if it wasn't for pain. Death gotta be easy, 'cause life is hard. (50
Cents) . Macbeth the same he says “Better be with the dead whom we to gain our peace have
sent to peace” (Act 3, Scen​e 2). ​ I also want to mention the word death and dying is the overall 
theme in both the song and the play. In addition I feel that they both play somewhat of a victim. 
Making it seem that they are somewhat justified in their actions. That they are doing everything 
because they need to. When in fact they are just as bad. They created the nightmare they are living 
and have no choice but to deal with it. Like they say “You live by the sword, you die by the sword” ​But
again this has happened with many people in the past, it is happening now and it will more than
likely happen in the future.
 Bibliography

https://genius.com/50-cent-many-men-wish-death-lyrics
https://myshakespeare.com/macbeth/
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/summary/