50 Cent Billboard Ban Sought

A group of Los Angeles activists has 50 Cent in its crosshairs.

The anti-Fiddy faction wants billboards promoting the rapper's forthcoming film, Get Rich or Die Tryin', taken down, claiming the signs promote gun violence.

"We're calling upon Paramount Pictures to remove these billboards out of our neighborhood and from this city," organizer Najee Ali said Tuesday at a press conference condemning the ad campaign.

A mother who lives in South-Central L.A., Ali characterized Paramount's purchasing of the billboards "irresponsible."

She believes the billboards--which depict Fiddy gripping a gun in his left hand and a microphone in his right--is essentially touting a film "that glorifies carrying guns."

"Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death for young black males in South-Central Los Angeles and across urban America," said Ali, who runs Project Islamic Hope. Ali's protest has drawn support from the civil rights group National Association for Equal Justice in America and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who sent a letter to the studio asking to have billboards removed from school zones.

Neither Fiddy nor Paramount reps have responded to Ali's call to take down the billboards, which started sprouting all over Los Angeles last week.

Regency, Viacom and Clear Channel, the three companies that own most of the billboard space in the Los Angeles area, have also not yet commented on the proposed ban. A single billboard featuring the controversial Get Rich ad costs Paramount anywhere from $3,000 to $80,000 a month, depending on the location, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The film, due in theaters Nov. 9, is loosely based on the hip-hop megastar's own life. Fiddy, born Curtis Jackson, was famously shot multiple times after living the life of a drug-dealing New York hustler.

His character in the film, much like Fiddy himself, gives up his gangster ways to make it in the music business.

Los Angeles Police Sergeant Catherine Plows says she understands Ali and other parents' concerns over the advertisement for the film.

"Any form of media that glorifies violence would be of concern to both parents and the police," she told E! Online. However, Plows added, "we can't stop people from advertising."

Plows, who works in the LAPD's media relations department, sees the dust-up as "the perfect opportunity for parents and police to remind children about the danger, and consequences, of gun violence."

Meanwhile, for the rap star caught in the middle of the dispute, it's full-steam ahead in advance of his anticipated big-screen debut. Fiddy rereleased his multiplatinum-selling hit The Massacre last month in an effort to build momentum going toward the film's release.

The original edition of The Massacre was the top seller of the first half of 2005. The rapper's sophomore collection has already sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.

His label, Interscope, announced the track listing for the Get Rich soundtrack last week, which includes new tracks from Fiddy and his equally in-demand G-Unit posse.

"I created the music for the soundtrack while I was actually filming the movie," Fiddy said. "I had a studio trailer with me and would record every day between takes," he added.

The first single from the film's soundtrack is "Window Shopper"; the album drops Nov. 8.