50 Cent Biography

50 Cent is a rapper, songwriter, and actor famous for his raw lyrics and for his dangerous lifestyle, which has included being involved in the drug trade and getting shot.

Curtis James Jackson III was born on July 6th, 1975, in the South Jamaica area of Queens, New York. His father walked out when he was born and Curtis spent his early years learning to sell drugs with his mother. When Curtis was eight, his mother was shot dead in their home, and he was then passed onto the care of his grandparents.

In his teens Curtis aspired to become a boxer, but he was still deeply involved in the drug trade, working under the name Boo Boo. Curtis found himself in increasing trouble with the law, and then two things happened that changed his life. The first was the birth of his son, Marquise (now sometimes known as 25 Cent), who inspired him to clean up his act to the point where he now neither smokes nor drinks. The second was the discovery of his talent as a rapper by Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay. Although the record deal that Jay arranged for him did not prove to be lucrative, 50 Cent was able to use it as a springboard from which to build a successful musical career.

After attracting the attention of New York City's Track Masters, 50 Cent joined their Columbia Records sub-label and began work on an album, Power of a Dollar. Though never released, this spawned a single, “How to Rob,” which shot him to fame, as he used it to ridicule all the major hip hop artists of the time. As the likes of Jay-Z, Big Pun, and Ghostface Killah responded in kind, 50 Cent went from being a nobody to one of the biggest names on the scene. 50 followed up with the equally controversial “Ghetto Qu'ran,” an attack on drug lord Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, which named many people high up in the drug trade. This song led to a series of bloody feuds culminating in the attempted assassination of 50 Cent outside his home. Shot nine times, 50 spent weeks in the hospital, but eventually made a full recovery.

Having been dropped by Columbia because of the controversy, he recorded new material with his business partner Sha Money XL, who bootlegged the songs to an enthusiastic reception in New York City. Tthe two then self-released two albums, Guess Who's Back? and 50 Cent is the Future, which cemented the rapper's grassroots reputation. They were also noticed by Eminem, who persuaded Dr. Dre to offer 50 Cent a contract with Interscope Records. 50 Cent then rewarded his mentors by releasing Get Rich or Die Tryin', which sold almost nine thousand copies in its first week of release, and has since gone sextuple platinum. The first single from the album, “In Da Club” was 50 Cent’s first #1 single in the U.S.

Following the success of Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent was given his own label, G-Unit Records, which also signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck. He released The Massacre, which also went platinum, confirming his star power. However, 50 Cent never entirely broke free from his violent past. A feud with rival rapper Ja Rule led to a fight in which 50 Cent was stabbed, and on another occasion he had to abandon a gig after having chairs thrown at him by angry audience members.

50 Cent has launched his own line of clothing and has worked with Reebok to produce G-Unit sneakers. He collaborated on a Playstation 2 game called 50 Cent: Bulletproof. He has written a memoir about his early life titled From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens, and has played himself in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin', which also starred Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje and Joy Bryant. Since getting bitten by the acting bug, he has also worked on Home of the Brave, with Samuel L Jackson, Jessica Biel, and Christina Ricci; and is scheduled to start filming The Dance with Nicolas Cage.

50 Cent lives in Farmington, Connecticut, in a mansion that previously belonged to Mike Tyson. He has been romantically linked to actress Vivica A Fox.

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