Claim: 50 Cent is a rapper.

Curtis James Jackson III -LRB- born July 6 , 1975 -RRB- , known professionally as 50 Cent , is an American rapper , actor , businessman , and investor . Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens , Jackson began selling drugs at age twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic . Although he left drug-dealing to pursue a musical career , in 2000 he was shot nine times . After Jackson released the compilation album Guess Who 's Back ? in 2002 , he was discovered by Eminem and signed by Shady Records , Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records .   With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre -LRB- who produced his first major-label album , Get Rich or Die Tryin ' -RRB- , Jackson became one of the world 's best selling rappers and rose to prominence with East Coast hip hop group G-Unit -LRB- which he leads de facto -RRB- . In 2003 , he founded G-Unit Records , signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck , Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo . Jackson had similar commercial and critical success with his second album , The Massacre , which was released in 2005 . He released his fifth studio album , Animal Ambition , in 2014 and is working on his sixth studio album , Street King Immortal . He executive produces the show Power , which airs on Starz .   During his career Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards , including a Grammy Award , thirteen Billboard Music Awards , six World Music Awards , three American Music Awards and four BET Awards . He has pursued an acting career , appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin ' -LRB- 2005 -RRB- , the Iraq War film Home of the Brave -LRB- 2006 -RRB- and Righteous Kill -LRB- 2008 -RRB- . 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper -LRB- behind Eminem and Nelly -RRB- by Billboard . Rolling Stone consider Get Rich or Die Tryin ' and `` In Da Club '' to be in their lists of `` 100 Best albums of the 2000s '' and `` 100 Best songs of the 2000s '' at numbers 37 and 13 .