50 Cent is one of the most famous rappers in the world. His real name is Curtis Jackson III. The celebrity was born on 6 July 1976 in New York. His family lived in one of the most criminal New York neighborhoods. Since childhood, Jackson learned what violence, racism, and poverty were.
Curtis never knew his father. His mom, Sabrina, gave birth when she was just 14 years old. The young mother didn’t have time for the boy. She did was too young to get a decent job. While grandparents were looking after the boy, Sabrina was dealing drugs. Curtis followed in her footsteps. He started selling cocaine when he was just 12 years old. In some of the later interviews, Curtis would talk about short rendezvous with his mother, which seemed like Christmas to him. The young woman gave the boy expensive gifts to make up for the time she couldn’t spend with him.
When Jackson was eight years old, his mother died. After that, he was brought up by grandparents. When he was in middle school, Curtis took up boxing. The hobby later helped him become a boxing promoter.
In 1994, when Jackson was 19 years old, he was arrested for selling drugs. The young man didn’t get jail time. But in three weeks he was arrested again. Police officers found heroin and weapons on his apartment. This time Curtis was sent to jail for three years. However, he was amnestied before the term was up.
After coming out of jail, Curtis became a big fan of rap. He honed music skills in his friend’s basement. In 1996, he met Jam Master Jay from Run DMC project, who created his own label, Jam Master Jay Records. For the first time, Curtis got a chance to work in a real studio. Jay helped the rapper write music and lyrics.
For the first time, 50 Cent officially appeared in the song “React”, recorded by Onyx. The single was featured in its 1998 album, Shut ’Em Down. Later, Jay became a producer for Curtis’ debut album, which never came out.
In 1999, when Jackson finished working with Jam Master Jay, he got an attractive offer from the representatives of Columbia Records. In just two weeks, the rapper recorded 36 tracks, 18 of which became a part of his unofficial 2000 album, Power of the Dollar.
The same year, together with The Madd Rapper, Curtis recorded his debut single “How to Rob”. It became a hit and brought the rapper immense popularity. It’s worth noting that the artist came up with the song in the half an hour it took him to get from his house to the studio. The single got high scores from such celebrities as DMX, Jay-Z, Big Pun, and Wu-Tang Clan. Nas invited Jackson to participate in his promotional tour for the LP, Nastradamus. Many clubs wanted to book 50 Cent for private events.
Several weeks before the release of the debut LP, Curtis was wounded in a shooting and ended up in a hospital. The LP eventually came out in 2003. The rapper called it Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The release brought the rapper even more success. It featured such hits as "Inda Club", which topped Billboard 200 and such popular songs as "Don’t Push Me", "P.I.M.P.", and "If I Can’t". The album sold over 870,000 copies in just four days and earned six platinum certifications in the USA.
The second LP, The Massacre, came out in the spring of 2005. It became successful and sold 1.5 million copies in just a few days. Singles "Outta Control", "Intro", and "In My Hood" played all over the country, on radio stations, and in clubs. The rapper recorded music videos for such songs as "Candy Shop", "All His Love", and "Disco Inferno". The music video to "Candy Shop" collected 500 million views on YouTube.
A year later, the rapper presented his third LP, Curtis, with such hits as "Man Down", "My Gun Go Off", "Peep Show", and "Ayo Technology". The next album, Bulletproof, was created as a soundtrack to the video game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof.
In 2014, 50 Cent recorded a new LP, Animal Ambition, which climbed to the fourth spot of Billboard 200.
In 2016, Curtis and Chris Brown recorded a new hit, "No Romeo No Juliet".
Right now, the rapper is working on a new album called Street King Immortal. The release date hasn’t been announced yet.
