I'm talking about the US market, which was the largest record selling country at the time, and had the largest MTV audience. Dre and Em guaranteed 50 would be the next big thing.
I remember when that record came out and blew up radio. Then the video came out, but it was already huge at that point. Wanksta had come out the previous year, was a top 15 hit, and had already established 50 Cent as the heir to NY rap, plus the west coast was checking for him due to Dre. I think people have forgotten how different things were back then. The song was literally being played 24/7, before and after the video. The album sold 10 million records. Hell, it was HUGE worldwide