Introduction It is often believed that the career of a performer depends only on his/her talent. However, one should not disregard that the outcome greatly depends on the managerial skills of the artist and the promotion of his/her works. Moreover, one should not disregard the cultural environment in which this person lives. This paper is aimed at discussing the careers of two successful performers, namely Michael Jackson and 50 Cent. They represent dramatically different styles; in particular, pop-dance and hip-hop, but their careers have some common traits. Certainly, these artists may differ in term of musical genre, style, and influence on other musicians; yet, by looking at their progress, one can see that the success of a performer can be attributed to talent, hard work, and the knowledge of the music industry. Moreover, without managerial skills it may be difficult for them to rise to prominence. These are the main issues that one can identify. The career of Michael Jackson Michael Jackson began his career in the early sixties when he was a member of the Jackson 5. This band was managed by Michael’s father, Joseph who attempted to promote the band. One should point out that his musical career began at the time of the civil rights movement was very strong in the United States. Certainly, one cannot say that his success can be attributed only to the social changes in the country; however, they removed various barriers that prevented many black artists from reaching the popular concert halls or signing contracts with recording studios. The influence of social environment cannot be disregarded. Additionally, Michael Jackson grew up at the time when Black Arts Movement was extremely popular, and it was aimed at showing that African-American could invent their distinct culture and art. In his turn, Michael Jackson strived to create his own original style that did not exist before and this style is one of his major achievements. Thus, social and cultural environment affected this artist. He achieved recognition in the eighties when he became the symbol of an emerging musical style, called dance-pop. This style has such attributes as constant tempo, emphasis on grooves or beats, and catchy lyrics that is more likely to be remembered by listeners (Warner 2003, p. 15). In the eighties, the name of Michael Jackson was associated with many successful songs and albums. In particular one can mention his studio album Thriller that still remains the best-selling album in the United States and all over the world (Hombach 2001, p. 97). This album contains many successful songs; among them one can distinguish Billie Jean; this song was written and composed by Jackson. This song is blend of such styles as rhythm and blues (R&B) and dance-pop (Hombach 2001, p. 97). This composition contains such elements as the unchanging drum beat, synthesizer bass, and chord progression. This song instantaneously achieved instantaneous critical and commercial success in part because of the short video which accompanied this song (Hombach 2001, p. 95). This video assisted the promotion of this single and contributed to its popularity. Furthermore, when performing this song, Mi