Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name
50 Cent, is an American rapper, businessman, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and
The Massacre (2005).
Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum
by the RIAA.
His album
The Massacre has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA
.
Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic.
After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and
struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his
album
Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre,
who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one
of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record
label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.
Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Nas, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Puff Daddy, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film
Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film
Home of the Brave in 2006, and
Righteous Kill in 2008. 50 Cent was ranked as the sixth best artist of the 2000–2009 decade by
Billboard magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the fourth top male artist and as the third top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly.
Billboard magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000–2009 decade
and as the number one rap artist of the 2000–2009 decade.
Billboard ranked his album
Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the twelfth best album of the 2000–2009 decade
and his album
The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000–2009 decade.
As of September 2011, 50 Cent is working on his yet-to-be-titled fifth
studio album, which is set to be released in November 2011.