London, March 20 (IANS) Rapper 50 Cent has revealed his friend Eminem inspired him to want to become an internationally successful singer.

'I remember looking at Eminem's plaque for 'The Marshall Mathers LP', and it had 35 countries on it where the record went gold or platinum, and I looked at that and thought, I want one of those,' contactmusic.com quoted him as saying.

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, believes he has been able to match Eminem's success because of his commitment to touring.

'I think at this point, most artists would dream of having the ability to travel from the United States to different territories and actually be wanted, and have people already knowing their material.

'I'm excited to be going on tour right now. A lot of music that I hear coming from new artists, I mean, some of it's good and some of it I'll completely pass on. And I think a lot of people out there feel the same way, and it's just a shift in the actual climate of the music business itself.'