50 Cent looked to an unlikely muse to inspire his latest album - he wrote new LP Before I Self Destruct after watching Britney Spears' head-shaving meltdown.

The In Da Club hitmaker looked on in shock along with the rest of the world as the pop superstar publically broke down - taking clippers to her long hair and crying on the streets of Los Angeles.

Spears' series of emotional breakdowns lead to the Toxic hitmaker being taken to hospital for psychiatric evaluation before losing custody of her two sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline in 2007.

And 50 Cent admits he was morbidly fascinated by the previously clean-cut star's downfall - insisting it gave him material for the recording studio.

He tells OK! magazine, "She was the greatest show on earth last year.

"She was going through her issues in public... It was great to watch her spin out of control because it makes the average person feel better."