American rapper and actor Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, was born on July 6, 1975. With the publication of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003) and The Massacre (2005), he became well-known. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and has received eight platinum certifications from the RIAA. Eleven million copies of his album The Massacre have been sold worldwide, and it has received five platinum certifications from the RIAA.
American rapper and actor Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, was born on July 6, 1975. With the publication of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003) and The Massacre (2005), he became well-known. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and has received eight platinum certifications from the RIAA. Eleven million copies of his album The Massacre have been sold worldwide, and it has received five platinum certifications from the RIAA.
Jackson started selling drugs at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. He was born in South Jamaica, Queens. He was fired at and injured by nine bullets during an incident in 2000, after quitting drug peddling to seek a career in rap. Rapper Eminem noticed Jackson when he released his album Guess Who’s Back? in 2002, and Jackson then signed to Interscope Records. Jackson’s first significant commercial hits were produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, who also helped him become one of the highest-selling rappers in the world. He established G-Unit Records in 2003, a record label that signed popular rappers like Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck.
Rappers Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam’ron, Rick Ross, and former members of G-Unit The Game and Young Buck are just a few of the rappers with whom Jackson has feuded. In addition, he has pursued an acting career, making appearances in the Iraq War films Home of the Brave (2006), Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005), and Righteous Kill (2008). According to Billboard magazine, 50 Cent was the sixth-best musician of the 2000–2009 decade. In addition, the magazine rated him as the third-best rapper after Eminem and Nelly and the fourth-best male musician overall. He was also named the top rap artist of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine, and the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the same decade. His albums Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre were named by Billboard as the twelfth and 37th best albums of the 2000–2009 decade, respectively. He is currently working on Black Magic, his fifth studio album, which is anticipated to be released later in 2011 but does not yet have an official release date.
