50 Cent has allegedly made bank off his “Get the Strap” catchphrase.
On Tuesday, the multi-hyphenate took to Instagram to announce he had sold the trademarked term to Viacom’s Bellator for $1 million. Fif claims the MMA organization will begin using the phrase on its apparel, suggesting the upcoming designs will be “cooler” than the “Get the Strap” merch currently available on G-Unit’s official webstore.
50’s “Get the Strap” phrase is widely associated with the rapper’s trolling efforts. He has included a hashtag of the term on various social media posts in which he took aim at several rappers. Back in May, the NYPD reportedly launched an investigation into 50 after he posted the phrase an apparent reference to Deputy Inspector Emmanuel Gonzalez. The rapper’s team insisted the now-deleted post was not a threat.
“Months ago, Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson filed to trademark the phrase ‘Get the Strap,’ a slogan he has been posting across all of his social media platforms. It is posted in connection with photographs and videos, including many featuring just him or things he is promoting,” his representatives said in a statement. “Taken in its proper context, the specific post in question was neither intended as, nor could reasonably be interpreted as, a threat or call to violence against anyone. So the record is clear, Mr. Jackson does not condone or promote the use of violence against anyone. ‘Get the Strap’ is a playful phrase used by Mr. Jackson to punctuate absurd and outrageous situations.”
50 said the term was originally used by his Power character, Kanan Starks.
On Wednesday, Bellator announced a multi-year agreement with sports streaming service DAZN. Forbes reports that the “nine-figure” deal will see Bellator air certain events exclusively on the entertainment platform. DAZN is currently available in select countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan, Austria, and Switzerland; however, DAZN said it has plans to launch in the U.S. later this year.
