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50 Cent music biography continued...

"Fiddy" has people talking about his stories and actions just as much as they are talking about his music.

Curtis James Jackson III was born July 6, 1975 in Southside Jamaica, Queens, New York. 50 was raised without a father and his mother was murdered when he was a young boy. His grandparents raised him from that point on, however he was drawn to the tough street life and quickly became involved in the drug trade. Going by the hustling nickname "BooBoo", his experience selling crack was successful and lucrative until he had several encounters with the law and was in and out of prison.

In 1996, he met Jam Master Jay from Run D.M.C. and was signed to his label JMJ Records. Unfortunately, the deal did not benefit 50 the way he hoped it would. He soon associated himself with Trackmasters, a successful production duo who previously worked with Nas and Jay-Z. Under their Columbia sub label, they signed 50 and began recording his first album. Power of the Dollar included the single "How to Rob" which became a hit due to its controversial content about robbing big-name rappers such as Jay-Z, Big Pun, Sticky Fingaz, and Ghostface Killah.

Shortly after the release of "How to Rob", he was shot 9 times outside of his grandmother's house in Queens. The rapper surprisingly survived the incident, despite being shot in the face. He was soon dropped by Columbia after they had been informed of the scandalous occurrence.

Once recovered, 50 formed his group G-Unit and began recording tracks with Sha Money XL. The mix tape recordings that were created, earned street popularity and credibility in New York. The tracks were later compiled on the album Guess Who's Back in 2002. Rapper Eminem, impressed with 50's talent, signed him on a joint deal with Dr. Dre, to their label Shady/Aftermath. Previous to the new album release, Eminem featured a song by 50 in his film 8 mile. In the meantime, the underground hit "Wanksta" became increasingly popular in 2002. Get Rich or Dye Tryin' was released in 2003. The album was an extreme success as it was certified 6x platinum and sold 12 million worldwide.

The rapper also released, Beg for Mercy, with his G-Unit clan in 2003. The album introduced tracks by Lloyd Banks and by Young Buck, and was eventually certified platinum. New and upcoming rapper, The Game, joined G-Unit in 2004 and soon released an album in 2005. The hit "How We Do", a collaboration with 50, quickly climbed the charts. A short while later, 50 announced the departure of The Game from G-Unit on a radio station which caused a fight to break loose right after. One of The Game's crew was shot in leg.

The Massacre was released in 2005 and reached 5x platinum selling 11 million worldwide. The rapper also made a film debut in the semi-autobiographical, Get Rich or Dye Tryin' alongside Joy Bryant and Terrence Howard.

On May 18th 2009, 50 cent released a song entitled "Ok, You're Right", produced by Dr. Dre. This song will be included in his next album.