• He was born Curtis Jackson and hails from Queens, New York. The name 50 Cent is derived from 1980s Brooklyn robber, Kelvin Martin, who also used the name 50 Cent. Jackson commented on his name choice, "I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
• He had a record deal with Sony/Columbia Records in 1999-2000, but was shot on May 24, 2000, just before the record's release. He was hit nine times, mostly in the legs, but also in the jaw. Shortly after the shooting, Columbia refused to release the record, citing an alarmingly high amount of bootlegs of the unreleased CD, and dropped 50 from the label.
• 50 sold crack for years before and during his time with Columbia Records. At some times, he made $5,000 every day. At other times, he wound up in jail for extended stays.
• The bullet wound in his jaw changed his voice, giving him a unique sound.
• Tracks recorded with producer Money XL after getting dropped from Columbia created a buzz on the New York underground. Somehow, one of his tapes ended up in the hands of Eminem, who offered him more than a million dollars to sign with Shady/Aftermath Records (a division of Interscope).
• His 2003 album, what many consider his official debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', had to be released five days earlier than scheduled to thwart bootleggers. The album was one of the biggest debuts in history, selling 872,000 copies its first week. The only rapper to sell more albums in a week is Eminem.
• 50 says he doesn't mind the bootlegging because he believes that word of mouth will only help his sales in the long run.
• He was arrested December 31, 2002 for having two unloaded guns in his SUV. Charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
• Some of his tattoos: Angry Clown, "Love And Hate," "SOUTH SIDE," "50," "Cold World," "G-Unit," "Marquise," "Sabrina" (his mom's name), Angel.
• His mother died when he was 8. He was raised by his grandparents and never knew his father.
• He was expelled in 10th grade for possession of crack. He got his GED while in jail.
• In Fenruary 2008, he was ordered to pay an undisclosed sum to a photographer who claimed he was assaulted by the rapper. According to court reports, 50 Cent attacked a New York Post shutterbug named Jim Alcorn as he snapped the rapper leaving a jewellery shop in 2003. Alcorn allegedly sustained injuries in his neck and jaw, as a result of the attack. According to the photograph's lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, "A settlement was reached and all parties are satisfied."
• He topped the Forbes list of the richest rappers in 2008. He pulled in $150 million between June 2007 and June 2008, beating out Jay-Z, Diddy and Kanye West. This placed him second behind Oprah Winfrey, who earned $275 million in the same period. 50 Cent raked in $100 million of that when his stake in Vitamin Water's parent company, Glaceau, was bought by Coca-Cola. He's also generating big bucks with his popular G-Unit brand of clothes and shoes. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2
• He had an Apprentice-like reality show in 2008 called The Mondy and the Power. It was canceled after one season because of low ratings. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France
• Although there's a US law against buying or importing Cuban cigars, that didn't stop 50 Cent from requesting a box of Montecristo Cuban cigars to be delivered to his dressing room backstage on his 2007 tour.
• In 2008 Taco Bell sent an open letter to 50 Cent, urging him to temporarily change his name to one of several other sub-dollar sums reflecting prices on their value menu range. Their publicity stunt backfired when the rapper successfully sued the restaurant chain for "diluting the value of his good name."
• 50 Cent was declared bankrupt in July 2015 after being ordered to pay $3 million to Rick Ross' baby mama, Lastonia Leviston, following his leak of her sex tape. The rapper described the bankruptcy as a "strategic business move."
• 50 Cent began boxing at about age 11, and during the mid-1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics. He is now a licensed boxing promoter.
• In 2003, 50 Cent bought a 52-room Farmington, Connecticut mansion, which was formerly owned by ex-boxer Mike Tyson.
• 50 Cent has had a long-running feud with Ja Rule. One phase involved 50 trolling his fellow rapper by purchasing 200 tickets in the front rows of a Ja Rule November 9, 2018 show in Texas, just to leave them gallingly empty.

Comments: 22

• Michael from Morris County, NjI totally agree with you jake. rap sucks, it's just a buncha ex-cons trying to be msuical, but failing completly
• Peter from Santiago, ChileDude why cant one appreciate rock and rap? i mean realy if a cirtin music genera is not for you why bring it down?
  also i gotta say 50 is a straigt G
• Natas Sacrisity from Spokane, WaI fully agree with Jake from San Diego ^^
• Liam from New York, NyRolling Stone: The Immortals:
  100 Greatest Artists of All Time
  (compiled in 2004)
  1 - The Beatles
  2 - Bob Dylan
  3 - Elvis Presley
  4 - Rolling Stones
  5 - Chuck Berry
  6 - Jimi Hendrix
  7 - James Brown
  8 - Little Richard
  9 - Aretha Franklin
  10 - Ray Charles
  11 - Bob Marley
  12 - Beach Boys
  13 - Buddy Holly
  14 - Led Zeppelin
  15 - Stevie Wonder
  16 - Sam Cooke
  17 - Muddy Waters
  18 - Marvin Gaye
  19 - Velvet Underground
  20 - Bo Diddley
  21 - Otis Redding
  22 - U2
  23 - Bruce Springsteen
  24 - Jerry Lee Lewis
  25 - Fats Domino
  26 - Ramones
  27 - Nirvana
  28 - Prince
  29 - The Who
  30 - The Clash
  31 - Johnny Cash
  32 - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
  33 - Everly Brothers
  34 - Neil Young
  35 - Michael Jackson
  36 - Madonna
  37 - Roy Orbison
  38 - John Lennon
  39 - David Bowie
  40 - Simon & Garfunkel
  41 - The Doors
  42 - Van Morrison
  43 - Sly & The Family Stone
  44 - Public Enemy
  45 - The Byrds
  46 - Janis Joplin
  47 - Patti Smith
  48 - Run-D.M.C.
  49 - Elton John
  50 - The Band
  
• Mike from Norfolk-close To Omaha, Nehey im 12 and i used to love rap-until i started to play music on guitar, bass and drums.i started to appreciate music more.it started with guitar and it got better with bass and i finally play the drums and rap requires no talent whatsoever COMPARED to music with instruments.rap takes some talent but not as much.o yeah what is it that u rich wangsters say?
  U KNOW ITS HARD OUT HERE FO A PIMP-headbangin aint easy either
• Derrick from Raleigh, NcI think Andrea england covers the intelgence of his 50s fans
• Juan Mccoy from Albuquerque, Nm50 cent can only keep his career on beef. When Ja Rule lost to 50 he got too cocky and started beef with The Game. So The Game dropped an album proving he was the better rapper. He also released a documentry bothed named stopped snitching stop lying.
• Derick from Land O Lakes, FlA rapper having a video game is the worst possible thing the world can have asside from modern rappers
• Derick from Land O Lakes, FlI think Andrea says it all about how smart the Rap community is.
• Todd from Bakersfield, CaI say let MTV brainwash the masses into worshiping rap and blaspheming the classics. The more rich white guys in XXL gangster shirts buy rap CD's, the more Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, etc. for me!
  Nonetheless, rap sucks.
• Ben from Nyc, MsJake, San Diego, CA ROck on dude.
  You people want to hear a singer? Listen to Iron Maidens Bruce DIckson.
• Andrea from London, Englandwell 50 cent is a nang rapper and he earns every money he owns.every other rapper is scared off him too death
• Patrick from Humboldt, Iajake from sand diego is the coolest. If only MTV would make kids believe that Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac etc are cool....
• Sue from Kitchener, Canadai think 50-cent is so hott and him and eminem have it going for them i one day hope to meet him or 50-cent and every one hasthere own sytle and i like 50-cent and eminem's so if you ever read this keep dreaming and never let anyone take that from you
• Raven from Millville, UtI can't believe that he has his own video game. That's rad! But I bet that the kung-fu breakdancing movie that the Black Eyed Peas want to shoot would be better. By a long shot.
• Katie from Lansing, Mi50 cent is a good rapper. He has alot of innapropriate songs though
• Jake from San Diego, CaRap. It is strange to my that one would listen and purchase this incomprehensible tongue-twister of a music genre. What happened to the golden days of music when stardom was measured by an instrument player's skill and a vocalist's range of tone? Why have songs with mind-numbing guitar solos and meaingful words beyond a vocabulary of "what", "ho", and "gangsta" been replaced with two perpetually repeated computer-generated notes and vocals like the singer has a mouth full of marbles. 50 Cent is someone who should be wearing an orange jumpsuit bending over on the side of a highway collecting garbage. He is a crimal, a grug dealer, a hustler, and a horrible musician to top it all off. He by no means deserves all the musical recognition he gets from naive pop-cultured teens that listen and accept as "cool" whatever they see on their MTV. 5o Cent has no talent. He is not a young aspiring buisiness mogul or entrepenuer (his record label does all that for him). He is a criinal worthy only of the state penitentiary. If you want good music try Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin,AC/DC, etc. If you want bad music, by all means listen to 50 Cent or Eminem until your ear drums pop and your brain cells are deteriorated. It will make you less successful, stupider, ad overall a bad person. Do the right thing: Say no to "Crap" without the "C".
• Kevin from San Antonio, Txj-dawg, chicago, IL....that was probally the stupidest comment ever...wow oh well Rock is better than rap, the end.
• Don from Kalamazoo, MoAll of 50's songs sound the same and he can only rap in one or two notes, the only reason his songs are remotley listenable is because of the catchy beats and good production.
• Frank from Olyphant, Pa50 is one of the best rappers next to eminem. Although, I like his raps because hes like eminem he raps his feelings and wat happened when he was younger.
  
• Layla from Dearborn, Mi50 is by far the realest from the fake....thats why hes the hardest to hate. Id love to one day meet him...but thats really unlikely.
• J-dawg from Chicago, Il50 is, in my opinion, one of the 10 best rappers ever. His East Coast flow is unmatched.

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