50 cent

On the American gangsta rap scene you can’t get any bigger than the East Coast rapper people are calling “the real deal”. 50 Cent has gone from the deprived streets of the ghetto to the top of the charts and multi-platinum selling CDs. Fiddy (50 Cent) has been through hell and back to get where he is today and has certainly got incredible stories to tell – not only in his songs. 50 Cent was born Curtis James Jackson III on 6 July 1976, in Queens, New York. At the time 50 Cent was born, his mother Sabrina was only 15 and sold drugs as a way of getting income for the family – 50’s father was never really around. In the poverty-stricken neighbourhood, where he grew up, 50 came into contact with the darker side of life at an early age. His mother was murdered in a botched drug deal at the family home when he was just 8 years old. Subsequently, the orphaned boy was taken in by his grandparents who did what they could to provide for him. Although 50 was a bright kid, his passion for rap music drew him away from his academic studies and he often skipped classes to hang out on the block. In the real world of the ghetto he studied street crime at the school of hard-knocks and learnt to put rhymes together. He looked to hip-hop idols Notorious B.I.G and 2Pac for his early musical inspiration. By his teens 50 was already making his first steps in music and hustling on the streets of his hood – following in his mother’s footsteps. He quickly established himself and got a rep as a local stick-up kid. He built up a small fortune and a substantial following in New York, which was to serve him well later in his music career. However, 50 was walking a dangerous road and found himself on the wrong side of the law on a number of occasions. He subsequently spent time behind bars. It was not until the birth of his son that 50 began to focus more on his rap career and move away from this life of crime. As 50 gained popularity on the streets through club performances, locally distributed mix-tapes, and word of mouth, people in higher places started to take notice. In 1996 the Run DMC DJ Jam Master Jay signed 50 to his JMJ label. After having learnt the tricks of the trade in the studio 50 was hungry for more. Unfortunately JMJ was unable to give him the success he yearned for, and 50 started working with Trackmasters – a NY production duo renowned for their collaboration with rap stars like Jay-Z. 50 soon signed to their Columbia sub-label and began recording his debut album “Power of the Dollar”. One of the first singles from the album was a controversial hit. In “How to Rob” 50 describes robbing several big-name rappers. While the single got him recognized as a performer who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, it also created serious feuds with the insulted rappers concerned. His next single, “Ghetto Qur\\\'an”, made him dangerous enemies in rap circles and the drugs trade. On 24 May 2000, just before Columbia was due to release “Power of the Dollar”, 50 was shot 9 times in front of his grandmother’s house in Queens. He miraculously survived the attack after spending several months in recovery but, following this shocking incident, Colombia dropped him from their label and shelved his debut album. However, backed by his G-Unit crew, 50 was soon on his feet again and back in the studio recording new material. In 2002 the rapper got his big break when mix-tapes, which had been attracting increasing interest on the rap scene since 2000, caught the attention of rap star and producer Eminem who, together with Dr. Dre, co-signed him to Shady/Aftermath records. Now, admired by some of the greatest in the industry, 50 became the most sought after newcomer in almost a decade and was constantly in the media spotlight. As a prelude to the release of 50’s debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”, Eminem included the single “Wanksta” on the soundtrack to his autobiographical film “8 Mile”. This gained 50 further recognition within the industry paving the way for “In