Power of the Dollar is the unreleased debut album by 50 Cent, which was later released as his debut EP. After Trackmasters signed 50 to Columbia Records in 1999, the production duo sent him to a recording studio in upstate New York studio, where he “produced 36 songs in two weeks”, 18 of which were selected to form his debut album. Initially slated to release on October 19, 1999 according to the original promo CD, Power of the Dollar was then pushed back to March 21, 2000, before finally being scheduled to release on July 4, 2000. Unfortunately, the album was shelved after 50 was shot in May 2000, two months before its release, leading to 50 being dropped from Columbia and blacklisted from the industry. It was also rumoured that a part of the reason for his blacklisting was due to one of the album’s songs “Ghetto Qu'ran (Forgive Me)”. Subsequently, the album was heavily bootlegged. The album features guest appearances from Destiny’s Child, Noreaga, Dave Hollister, Bun B and The Madd Rapper. The album’s production was handled by Trackmasters, Red Spyda, Sha Self, DJ Scratch and Erick Sermon, among others. Following 50’s release from the label, Columbia officially released a 5-track EP version of Power of the Dollar on September 12, 2000. The EP features three tracks from the album and two tracks exclusive to the EP.