Biography
Rapper-turned-actor-turned-entrepreneur Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson not only typified the street thug persona in his music and film roles, he actually came from the New York streets where he sold crack, robbed street corner rivals and escaped attempts on his life. But without his checkered past, which he routinely mined for lyrics and self-promotion, Jackson might not have become a top-selling artist. As it turned out, Jackson parlayed his huge …
Career Milestones
| Began rapping as an alternative to selling drugs after being released from prison | ||
| Raised by grandmother and turned to selling drugs at an early age | ||
| Raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York | ||
| Returned to the rap underground where he formed a collective (G-Unit, which also featured Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo) and began churning out mixtape tracks | ||
| Sentenced to three to nine years in prison for possession of heroin, crack and a starter pistol; earned GED while in prison and released in 1995 | ||
1996 | Began an apprenticeship with Jay Master Jay of Run DMC fame, who signed the fledgling rapper to his tiny JMJ Records label; not much resulted from this collaboration | |
1999 | Signed with Trackmasters, a successful production duo (comprised of Poke and Tone) responsible for Jay Z and Foxy Brown | |
1999 | Through Trackmasters, landed a deal with Columbia Records and cut the tracks for what was to be his debut album, Power of the Dollar | |
2000 | Jackson was shot nine times, while the rapper sat helpless in the passenger seat of a car; this led Columbia to shelve Power of the Dollar and part ways with the now-controversial rapper | |
2002 | Released the much-hyped debut album, Get Rich or Die Trying; Eminem featured the first single "Wanksta" on the "8 Mile" soundtrack | |
2002 | Signed a seven-figure contract with Eminem's Shady Records, Doctor Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records | |
2003 | Appeared as himself in "Beef," a documentary about the social, political and economic ramifications of rap and its increasingly controversial nature | |
2003 | Released the G-Unit album Beg for Mercy; also executive producer | |
2004 | Cast in his first fictional role in the straight-to-video gansta thriller, "Full Clip" | |
2005 | First starring role in director Jim Sheridan's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" playing a fictionalized version of himself | |
2005 | Released second album, The Massacre; earned multiple Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album | |
2005 | Voiced himself on the episode 'Pranksta Rap' of "The Simpsons" (FOX) | |
2006 | Cast in Irwin Winkler's drama "Home of the Brave," about the lives of four American soldiers in Iraq and their return back to the US | |
2007 | Released third album Curtis; made headlines when he threatened to never make a solo album again if his album did not outsell Kanye's album; he later took back this statement after Kanye had outsold his; earned a Grammy nomination | |
2008 | Hosted the MTV reality show "50 Cent: The Money and the Power" | |
2008 | Released fourth album, Before I Self Destruct; the album includes an accompanying feature-length film with the same title | |
2008 | Teamed with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in "Righteous Kill" | |
2009 | Earned a Grammy nomination for his collaboration with Eminem on the song, "Crack a Bottle" from Eminem's album, Relapse | |
2010 | Co-starred in the ensemble drama thriller "Twelve," directed by Joel Schumacher | |