50 Cent

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975) known by his professional name 50 Cent is an American rapper, actor, and businessman.

Early life 
He was born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens, New York City on July 6, 1975. Growing up, he never knew his father and his mother were murdered when he was just 8 years old. He grew up in a neighborhood called STP. He learned how to play basketball and football. In 2000, he got shot nine times by an attacker. Before becoming a rapper he was a drug dealer. His stage name is a tribute to New York City criminal Kelvin Martin (also known as 50 Cent).

Career 
50 Cent first appeared on Onyx's 1998 single "React". In 1999, he recorded the single "How to Rob" for the soundtrack of In Too Deep. Power of the Dollar was supposed to be 50 Cent's first album which included "How to Rob". He became successful in rap music in 2002. He was helped by his fellow gang boss Rijaan D. M. (the same person who helped him release track "Wanksta"). Since then, he has sold millions of records. His first album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" broke music records and went multi-platinum. It was number one right away on the Billboard 200.  It sold 872,000 copies in the first four days. 50 and the album both won an American Music Award. He won the first Sound of... award by the BBC for new artists. He also won the BET Award for Best New Artist.

In the summer of 2005, 50 Cent had a fight (or "beef") with The Game, a rapper in his G-Unit group. After this, The Game left G-Unit, and made some diss songs about 50 Cent. 50 Cent answered with songs like "Mr. Potato Head" and "300 shots" featuring G-Unit. 50 Cent was also the first to sign onto a joint effort between Eminem's Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. 50 Cent also mentions Rijaan D.M. in many of his tracks e.g. Candy Shop, 'Down On Me FT Jeremih' etc. As a teen. 50 Cent's role model was Tupac Shakur so, from the start his ambition was to be a gangster rapper. 50 Cent rapped on Michael Jackson's 2010 single "Monster" from Jackson's album Michael.

Albums 
 2003: Get Rich or Die Tryin'
 2005: The Massacre
 2007: Curtis
 2009: Before I Self Destruct
 2014: Animal Ambition
 2017: Street King Immortal (scrapped)

Collaborative albums 
 Beg for Mercy (with G-Unit) (2003)
 T·O·S (Terminate on Sight) (with G-Unit) (2008)

Awards

Grammy Awards
50 Cent has been nominated 14 times and won once.

World Music Awards
50 Cent has won six awards.

Filmography

Television 
Appearances

Video games

References

Other websites 

 50 Cent (Note: needs Adobe Flash)
 50 Cent 

1975 births
Living people
 
Actors from Queens
African American actors
American crime victims
American movie actors
Rappers from New York (state)
Criminals from New York City
American drug dealers
Grammy Award winners
Movie producers from New York City
Musicians from Queens
Singers from New York City
African-American rappers
American composers
American fashion designers
American hip hop singers
American people convicted of drug offenses
Philanthropists from New York (state)
American record labels
American record producers
Brit Award winners
Businesspeople from New York City
Gangsta rappers
Pseudonyms
Writers from New York City