50 Cent Biography
It seemed that Curtis James Jackson III, alias 50 Cent, had wronged the gods of the universe from the time his mother, Sabrina Jackson bore him on July 6 1975. Raised in his birth town of South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York, USA by his grandparents, the youngster was quickly pulled into violence and drugs and he begun to live the life of a hustler by making a trade out of drugs. His involvement in this life was hard to avoid since his mother was a drugs seller whose life was taken by fellow drug dealers when the rapper was barely at age eight and his absentee father soon forgot about him. He went to Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York.
His career started with production of mix tapes and mix CD’s that were well received by the young people and received a lot of airplay in clubs. At the time the rap artist was just fifteen years old and was the main neighbourhood drugs and arms dealer. His success and fortune, though small was not well received by competing rap artists and drug sellers and 50 Cent soon found himself under attack. 50 Cent’s life took a turn for the worst when he got in trouble with the law and was thrown in jail.
On coming out the rapper did not quit his lifestyle even after a near death experience that left him with nine bullets in his body. Luckily for him he was able to recover from the incident.
Early fatherhood later turned him to a clean life and 50 Cent dropped his illegal trade deciding to focus on his musical talent instead. His debut album titled ‘Shut Em Down’ was put on shelves in 1998 by Jam Master Jay Records where the rapper had been signed from 1996. Signed under Columbia Records 50 Cent released his second album in 2000 and it was titled ‘Power of the Dollar’. The popular dis single ‘How to Rob’ from the album got 50 Cent into big trouble with fellow rap artists who felt insulted by the lyrics.
His lyrics have also got him in trouble with recording studios that feared signing him lest they end up in the rapper’s woes.
2003 was a comeback year for 50 cent after he worked with big shots like G-Unit, his own recording label, and rapper Eminem. The result was a best-selling album titled ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ which went on to top Billboards in the US and was rated one of the best albums of that year.
From the album came hit singles like ‘In Da Club’. Another platinum album titled ‘The Massacre’ came out in 2005 and earned the rapper even more fame. ‘Curtis’ was his third album and it was released in 2007. A year later and the rapper’s fourth album, ‘Before I Self Destruct’ hit the airwaves.
Apart from music, 50 Cent is an entrepreneur and has his own clothing line under the G-Unit Clothing Company label. He has also appeared on films including ‘Home of the Brave’ and ‘Spectacular Regret’. 50 Cent has a published autobiography titled ‘From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens’.
|
