Is being power hungry just a part of the hustle to the top or a negative result of it?

In the history of Hip-Hop, there’s only one name that can be synonymously associated with the abuse of power over and over again. And that name is Suge Knight. Whether through physical or verbal threats, the former Death Row Records CEO ruled the industry with an iron fist. If you weren’t with him, you were against him. He feared no one and was, as he wanted, feared. But since the downfall of the Hip-Hop tyrant, there hasn’t been anyone in the industry as terrorizing as Suge, or who abused their power in the manner that he did consistently over the years.

As the quote goes, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." And it's true, some powerful men may do bad things like take advantage of the weak and naïve. Sometimes it is unintentional and sometimes, like in the case of Suge, it’s all a part of the plan. Jay-Z, Diddy and 50 Cent all have wealth and charisma, which has lead all three to the level of power that Suge once had as a leader in the game. Although they are not nearly as gruesome as Mr. Knight, when you are as powerful as these men are, rumors abound and people stay talking about how you should yield your power. And sometimes, things just don’t go as smoothly as you may intend.

Enter the controversy surrounding our top three Power 30 honorees and how they maneuvered out of the hands of corruption in three different ways.

Jay-Z: Smart Power

Jay-Z's easy but unexpected transition from Def Jam's cash cow artist to Def Jam President wasn't unexpected. It was foretold in his rhymes, "A CEO's mind, that marketing plan was me..." That was the beginning of the end of the dynamic duo of Jay-Z and Damon Dash. It also marked the beginning of Jay-Z's rise to the helm of a legendary Hip-Hop label armed with absolute power. It seemed like a victory for Hip-Hop when one of their own was in charge, although that sentiment quickly soured. While as President, Def Jam artists like LL Cool J and Method Man spoke out against Hov and the lack of promotional funds he provided for their albums. DMX chose to leave the label in order to escape a similar fate and so that it wouldn't put a strain on their friendship. There was even the highly anticipated Joe Budden album and one from Juelz Santana that was never released. Rumors began to circulate claiming that the lack of promo dollars and the number of shelved albums were due to Jay’s attempts to transfer funds to his own projects. While there were many disgruntled artists, others like Young Jeezy, Kanye West, Rihanna and Ne-Yo all experienced success.

Jay-Z has since stepped down as Def Jam's president and stepped up into some profitable ventures including a $150 million Live Nation deal, which helped to form his own label Roc Nation— one of his greatest power moves to date.

Diddy: Complete Power

After Biggie's untimely death, more money for Diddy lead to more problems for his artists, but the Bad Boy is usually upfront in all his dealings. He's been responsible for launching the successful careers of many urban music artists, while positioning Bad Boy Entertainment among the top labels in the industry. With that much clout, he doesn't really have to sugarcoat anything. It's pretty simple: you know his label, you know who he is and you know what he can do for your career. So here's the contract: take it or leave it. And of course, artists usually take it, although it may include a long walk to Brooklyn for some cheesecake, some verbal abuse from time to time or Diddy's ownership of a huge stake in an artist's publishing. Diddy is also an artist and has placed himself at the forefront to the dismay of others on his label. Some claim that for every platinum album that Bad Boy has released over the years, there's an unreleased project still collecting dust on the shelf. Remember the Free the Lox campaign? Most recently, former Bad Boy artist Mark Curry released a tell-all book to express his anger about being a forgotten artist on the roster. In response, a Bad Boy rep stated that the Mark Curry's book was purely fictional and embellished, while Diddy continues to focuse on revamping his label, working on his solo project and getting his new group Dirty Money, which includes former Danity Kane member Dane, out on tour.

50 Cent: Power Power

Power Power is all about physical strength and 50 Cent knows a thing or two about muscle. His career was built on strong-arming his way into the industry. Not long after solidifying himself under the tutelage of Dr. Dre and Eminem, Fifty forcibly asserted himself to the top by informally taking the role of rap's bully, knocking Ja Rule to the bottom and everyone else in his path. With Ja Rule basically out of the way, Fifty warned Hip-Hop that they shouldn't collaborate with Ja Rule, which then sparked a feud with Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Nas and Cam’Ron who did so anyways and became 50’s next targets. And although there was enough outside beef to fulfill Fifty's hunger during his ascension, there was also something brewing inside of the G-Unit camp. With the abrupt ousting of The Game, verbal beef took a physical turn with the alleged attack on Jimmy Henchmen's son— a power move then G-Unit member Young Buck publicly disagreed with. After later receiving news that Buck was working on a mixtape with The Game, he too, was terminated from G-Unit. The Formula Don even recorded a conversation between him and Buck, where the disenfranchised artist cried and begged 50 to reverse his decision, but 50 simply took that recording and had it played over the airwaves at Hot 97 to further kill Buck's street image.Overall it seems that beef is a part of Fifty's life, whether he starts or finishes it, as he did with his latest victim rapper Rick Ross. (Do we even have to go there?) This time though, he's trying to stay focused on his personal business affairs, having recently released a new video game, started work on an upcoming film and completed his long-anticipated final album with Interscope.

So are these just smart moves made by men of power or are these claims evidence of power gone wrong? Who do you feel abuses their power in Hip-Hop? You be the judge. —— Sam Morrison