50 Cent Reveals Gayle King Helped Him End His Years-Long Feud with Oprah

“If I can’t be a friend, at least let me be an enemy,” 50 Cent says of his strategy behind sparking feuds

When it comes to his many famous feuds, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson says there’s a method to the madness.

In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, the rapper and actor — whose new book Hustle Harder, Hustler Smarter is out now — opens up about how he discovered that deliberately becoming “enemies” with someone was an effective strategy for promoting his own brand.

“I used it with Oprah [Winfrey],” Jackson says. “My grandmother was a huge fan, so she forced me to watch her show. Every time she mentioned hip hop on her show, it was about what was wrong with it. And all of those things were on my album.”

“So I’m like, ‘I’m never going to get a chance to go on that show,’” he continues. “And every time you look up, the person that’s on there is an A-lister. So how is my audience supposed to perceive me as an A-lister if you don’t see me in the places where you would see an A-lister? I said if we can’t be friends — because she’s not going to invite me to the show — let me make it clear I don’t like her so my audience assumes I’m not there because I don’t want to be.”

Jackson and Winfrey’s beef dates as far back as 2006, when Jackson told the Associated Press that her show catered to “older white women.” The two finally made amends years later, after Jackson ran into Oprah’s best friend Gayle King at a fundraiser for the New York Restoration Project hosted by Bette Midler.

“She adjusted to my character and told Oprah that she needed to meet me because it’s not what you think it is,” Jackson says.

Winfrey, 66, invited Jackson to be on the show in 2012 after King, 65, told her about their meeting.