50 cent Curtis Jackson

Born 6th July 1975 in the South Jamaica section of Queens, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has lived in New York City all his life. Raised by his grandparents after his father ran out and his mother was shot when he was only eight. Growing up, the Queens rapper originally wanted to be a heavyweight boxer, but eventually fell back on rapping. DJs had taken it upon themselves to release two Best of 50 Cent mix CDs, before he had even signed to a major label.

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50 Cent hit the scene with "How To Rob An Industry Nigga" and he's been on a rampage ever since dealing with bootleggers, label back stabbing and other platinum selling artists trying to get at him physically. In 1999 his album Power of the Dollar, was heavily bootlegged and Trackmasters/Columbia never released it. Supposedly, Trackmasters weren't comfortable with him being caught up in the streets and getting shot three days before filming the video for "Thug Love," (with Destiny's Child) -- his first single. 50 was shot nine times that night, two shots hitting him in the head, the bullet that struck his face he carries as a reminder of what happened. That event led to the fall out with Columbia and negotiating his release from their grasps.

50 cent still showed love and rhymed over a Trackmasters produced remix of "I'm Gonna Be Alright" on J-Lo's latest album, but rivals at Murder Inc. had 50 cut from the track which could have launched the rapper. This all changed in one night when Eminem said on a radio show that "50 Cent is definitely my favorite rapper right now, he's the only one keeping it real." The very next day a bidding war started on 50, ending when 50 signed to Eminem's very own label Shady/Aftermath. 50 Cent's fame has exploded, being produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem and finally making his debut album "Get rich or Die Tryin'. 50 has full access and advantage of the streets through mix-tapes; that's his forum because he controls it. 50 Cent is the most anticipated artist of 2003. It's well deserved because he's "been patiently waiting."

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Track 50 cent:
(June 2003) Touring everywhere possible with artists like Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Sean Paul, Chingy, and Bone Crusher on the Roc Tha Mic Tour.
(January 2005) Finishing up sophomore album entitled "The Massacre" scheduled for a March 2005 release
(July 2005) 50cent On tour with Eminem, Lil' Jon and G-Unit!! (Anger Managment Tour 3)
(November 2005) Re-released "The Massacre" with an additional DVD of music videos for each song.
(February 2006) Working on his third album.
(March 2006) Filming a motion picture called "Home of the Brave" with Jessica Biel and Samuel L. Jackson.
(September 2007) Released his third studio album, 'Curtis', on September 11th (US).

50 Cent Discography:
2000 - Power of The Dollar
2002 - Guess Who's Back
2003 - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
2005 - The Massacre
2005 - Get Rich or Die Tryin' Soundtrack
2007 - Curtis