Wednesday, August 5, 2009

50 Cent

50 Cent

50 Cent outside a building in New York City in January 2006
Background information
Birth name Curtis James Jackson III
Born July 6, 1975 (1975-07-06) (age 34)
Origin South Jamaica, Queens, New York, U.S.
Genre(s) Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, actor, entrepreneur, executive producer, singer
Years active 1998 – present
Label(s) Jam Master Jay
Columbia
Violator
Aftermath/Shady/G-Unit/Interscope, Ill Flava Records, Baby Ray Productions
Associated acts G-Unit, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mobb Deep, Olivia, Sha Money XL, Ciara, Karl Hinds, Akon, Spider Loc, Young Hot Rod, Nyce Da Future, 40 Glocc, Snoop Dogg, Wisin & Yandel
Website 50cent.com,
ThisIs50.com

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975),[1] better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). Both albums achieved multi-platinum success, selling over twenty-one million copies combined.[2]

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, 50 Cent began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic.[3] After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, 50 Cent was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre—who produced his first major commercial successes—he became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

50 Cent has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, The Game, Cam'ron, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne and most recently Rick Ross. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008.

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