| 50 cent is a 26 year old South Jamaice, Queens native. His birth name is Curtis Jackson. 50 was raised without a father, and lost his mom when he was in his teens.Raised by his grandparents, 50 fell prey to the drugs and violence surrounding him. It was the late Run DMC DJ Jam Master Jay who took 50 under his wing and taught him the trade. In 1999, Columbia Records was introduced to 50 and signed him. In a remote studio in upstate New York, 50 turned out 36 songs, which resulted in Power of a Dollar, an unreleased album that featured the controversial single, �How to Rob.� In April of 2000, 50 was shot nine times outside his home in Queens. While he recuperated, Columbia dropped him from their label. Without any representation, 50 hooked up with his friend Sha Money XL. Together, they recorded more than 30 songs. In 2001, he self-released the material as Guess Who�s Back? 50�s big break arrived when Eminem and Dr. Dre called him up, flew him out to LA and signed him in to join Em�s Shady Records and Dre�s Aftermath label. While 50 worked on his major-label debut, he released yet another bootleg of borrowed beats called No Mercy, No Fear. The single, �Wanksta", was not intended for radio; however, the song became an instant hit, eventually landing on the soundtrack to 8 Mile. In February of 2003, 50 released Get Rich or Die Tryin�. The album went straight to number one and sold 1.5 million copies in its first week and half of release, the highest ever for a debut. |
