50 cent - Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975) is an East Coast rapper commonly known by his rap name 50 Cent and recognized by the nicknames Fifty Cent and Fiddy Cent. He rose to fame following the success of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. 50 Cent achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling around 20 million albums worldwide. He is known for his'gangsta' image, and for having been shot nine times and surviving. 50 Cent currently resides in Farmington, Connecticut. The rapper purchased the former mansion of boxing star Mike Tyson.[citation needed] Contents[hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Jam Master Jay Records 1.3 Columbia Records 1.4 Aftermath of Shooting 1.5 Shady/Aftermath 2 The popularity of G-Unit 3 Endorsements and Projects 4 Controversy 4.1 Ja Rule and Murder Inc. 4.2 Other New York Rappers 4.3 The Game 4.4 Other controversies 5 Discography 5.1 Solo Albums 5.2 G-Unit Albums 6 Filmography 7 See also 8 References Biography Early life Curtis James Jackson III grew up in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Raised without a father, his mother, whose name carried weight in the street was found dead under mysterious circumstances before he became a teenager. The orphaned youth was taken in by his grandparents. He began hanging out on New York Avenue, now known as Guy R. Brewer Blvd. There, he stepped up to get a reputation, amassing a small fortune and a lengthy rap sheet.[citation needed] But the birth of his son put things in perspective for the post adolescent, and he began to pursue rap seriously. Jam Master Jay Records This article or section does not cite its references or sources.Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC detected talent in the rapper and signed him to his label, for a brief time. His first official appearance on a song was on the group Onyx song,'React', off their album'Shut 'Em Down' in 1998. Jam Master Jay began learning teaching 50 how to make a record.[citation needed] JMJ would teach him to count bars and structure songs.[citation needed] Columbia Records This article or section does not cite its references or sources.Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) After leaving Jam Master Jay, the platinum hitmakers Trackmasters took notice of 50 and signed him to Columbia Records in 1999. They shipped 50 to Upstate NY where they locked him up in the studio for 2 1/2 weeks. He turned out 36 songs in this short period, which resulted in'Power Of A Dollar,' an unreleased masterpiece that Blaze Magazine judged a classic.[citation needed] His career took off after the release of the successful, but controversial single'How to Rob' playfully painted him as a deliriously hungry up-and-comer daydreaming of robbing famous rappers.[citation needed] Unable to take a joke, Jay-Z, Big Pun, Sticky Fingaz, and Ghostface Killah all replied to the song.'It wasn't personal. The next single,'Ghetto Qur'an', led to a feud with a drug kingpin known as Kenneth'Supreme' McGriff, founder of a gang known as the'Supreme Team.'[citation needed] The song goes in depth about the business of the drug trade and exposed the names of many in the business. The debut album Power of the Dollar was shelved due to the controversies surrounding the rapper, and also led to the infamous shooting and feuds with numerous rappers affiliated with McGriff.[citation needed]Aftermath of Shooting In April 2000, three days before filming his video with Destiny's Child for the song'Thug Luv', 50 Cent was shot 9 times, including a 9mm bullet to the face, in front of his grandmother's house in Queens, New York. He spent the next few months in recovery while Columbia Records dropped him from the label. After his recovery, 50 Cent returned to the recording studio, despite having no income or backing, with his new business partner and friend Sha Money XL. The two recorded over 30 songs, strictly for mix tapes, with the soul purpose of building a reputation. 50 Cent's street value rose[citation needed] and by the end of the spring 2001 he released the new material independently on the makeshift LP, Guess Who's Back?. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by his crew, G-Unit, 50 Cent stayed on his grind and made more songs. But it was different this time. Rather than create new songs as they had before, 50 decided to showcase his hit-making ability by retouching first-class beats which had already been used.[citation needed] They released the red, white and blue bootleg,'50 Cent Is the Future,' revisiting material by Jay-Z and even Rapheal Saadiq.[citation needed]Shady/Aftermath After getting sign to a one million dollar deal[citation needed], 50 quickly released another bootleg of borrowed beats,'No Mercy, No Fear.' The CD featured only one new track,'Wanksta,' which was certainly not intended for radio, but the streets couldn't wait for the official single[citation needed] and within weeks'Wanksta' became New York's most requested record.[citation needed] The track was put on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack, 50 Cent had become the most sought rapper after newcomer in almost a decade.[citation needed]The popularity of G-Unit In its first week of release, his debut'Get Rich Or Die Tryin'' sold 872,000 copies.[1] The album was certified gold in its first week and platinum the next, and it broke the record for first week sales of any major label debut in the entire Soundscan era. The rapper's debut album'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' was certified six times platinum by the RIAA. The album received some positive reviews from music critics. Interscope then granted 50 Cent his own label, G-Unit Records. 50 Cent appointed his manager Sha Money XL as the president.[2] The label signed on Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent had signed The Game under a joint venture. After the departure of The Game, the rapper signed singer Olivia and rap veteran Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records.[3] Spider Loc, M.O.P., and Young Hot Rod joined G-Unit after the signing of Mobb Deep[4][5]. 50 Cent has expressed interest in working with other rappers outside of G-Unit such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J from Def Jam, Mase from Bad Boy, or Freeway of Roc-A-Fella Records.[6]Endorsements and Projects Since releasing Beg For Mercy with his group G-Unit, the rapper teamed up with Reebok to release his own G-Unit Sneakers. He also invested in Vitamin Water bottled water and his own clothing line. 50 Cent appeared on an episode of The Simpsons entitled,'Pranksta Rap'. A video game starring 50 Cent, called 50 Cent: Bulletproof, is available on the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the PlayStation Portable. 50 Cent starred in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' directed by Jim Sheridan, and co-starring Joy Bryant and Terrence Howard. The rapper is currently working on his upcoming role in the movie Home of the Brave, along side Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Biel. He's also set to star opposite Nicolas Cage in The Dance, a film regarding prison boxers. 50 Cent released a memoir about his life up to his success entitled From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens. Controversy Ja Rule and Murder Inc. Even before signing with Interscope, 50 Cent was engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rival rapper Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. The rappers engaged in numerous mix tape'disses'. The conflict stemmed from the rapper's alleged robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry, which led to a confrontation and 50 Cent's stabbing. An affidavit on The Smoking Gun[7] suggests that the label has ties to Kenneth'Supreme' McGriff, who is possibly involved in the murder of Jam Master Jay and the attempted murder of 50 Cent. An excerpt of the affidavit reads:'The investigation has uncovered a conspiracy involving McGriff and others to murder a rap artist who has released songs containing lyrics regarding McGriff's criminal activities. The rap artist was shot nine times in 2000, survived and there after refused to cooperate with law enforcement regarding the shooting. Messages transmitted over the Murder Inc. Pager indicate that McGriff is involved in an ongoing plot to kill this rap artist, and that he communicates with Murder Inc. employees concerning the target.'Other New York Rappers 50 Cent began a feud with rappers Nas, Joe Budden, Fat Joe, Shyne, Jadakiss and D-Block.[citation needed]The feud with Nas started from tension after Nas appeared on Jennifer Lopez's track'I'm Gonna Be Alright (Remix)', which 50 wanted to be on. The dispute grew underground for a while, but sparked publicly when Nas made a disrespectful comment towards 50 Cent at a free concert in New York's Central Park.[citation needed]The feud with Joe Budden started from the 50 Cent's critical review of Joe Budden's debut album in a magazine interview. Joe Budden responded with several mixtape disses attacking the rap group's credibility. This feud continued on with The Game's involvement against Joe Budden.[citation needed]The feud with Jadakiss and Fat Joe started from their partnership with Ja Rule.[citation needed] After they were featured in the filming of a video, 50 Cent recorded a response to the rappers through a single known as'Piggy Bank'. The single attacks Jadakiss, Fat Joe and imprisoned rapper Shyne for the association to Ja Rule. The feud with Shyne started from the rapper having some of his album being produced by Irv Gotti. Even though things cooled down, at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Fat Joe made a disparaging comment about G-Unit during a performance. 50 Cent and G-Unit retaliated on set by shouting obscenities toward Fat Joe and his Terror Squad. The rapper has feuds with former G-Unit members, Bang 'Em Smurf and Domination. This feud started after Bang 'Em Smurf claimed the rapper didn't ass