LOS ANGELES: US rap star 50 Cent tweeted Thursday that is recovering in hospital and posted a picture of himself with an array of cuddly toys -- although some questioned whether it was all a publicity stunt.

The rapper posted a string of messages on Twitter starting Wednesday with photos of himself in bed, after being hospitalized with what a friend, DJ Drama, told XXLMag.com was a stomach bug.

"I don't want to go into surgery," he said in one of the first tweets, showing him lying down and looking sleepy, adding "@FloydMayweather call my phone why your phone off."

Another said that despite his condition his latest mixtape would still be released on schedule on Friday. "I'm in the hospital but my gangsta grillz LOST TAPE is done so it will be out on time," it said.

The tweet picturing him surrounded by stuffed toy animals jokingly teased a collaborator for giving him a bug. "Do not do a @djdrama gangsta grillz this is all I get. Ain't this a b*tch. I give 15 tracks you give me this," it read.

But on Thursday he was on the mend, tweeting: "I'm feeling better today I think I'm gonna get out of the hospital soon. EMINEM called me last night I love him that's my boy."

Celebrity bible People magazine however questioned whether the hospital tweets and the rapper's latest release weren't connected.

"Is 50 Cent suffering from a stomach bug -- or just bugging for some attention?" it asked, citing a source as saying that the talk of hospitalization was just a publicity stunt for the rapper's upcoming mixtape.

A spokesman for the rapper declined to comment.