50 Cent is a classic example of a streets-to-success story. Born Curtis Jackson, Fifty lived a lot of the common themes in rap music. Drugs, crime, prison and shootings were all a part of the rapper's life as a young hustler. After repeated run-ins with the law in 1994, Fifty left his life of crime behind and began to focus on music. The aspiring rapper began putting out mix tapes and was eventually signed to a Columbia sublabel. Fifty joined up with Trackmasters, a New York production duo, to work on his debut album, Power of the Dollar.The brash demeanor of Power of the Dollar came through loud and clear on the single "How to Rob," which depicted Fifty robbing certain successful rappers, and clearly rubbed some people the wrong way. The rapper was stabbed at the Hit Factory studio in Manhattan shortly after the single's release. In May of 2000 Columbia was set to release Power of the Dollar when Fifty was shot nine times in Jamaica, Queens in what later became a famous incident in the rapper's history. Columbia, disturbed by the news, shelved Power of the Dollar and dropped the rapper from their label in an attempt to distance the company from the violence that seemed to follow him.Fifty returned to the underground rap scene and produced a flurry of mix tapes from 2000 to 2002, garnering him attention throughout the rap community. He was signed by Eminem to Shady/Aftermath and began work on his debut album. Fifty appeared on the soundtrack to Eminem's movie 8 Mile and his track "Wangsta" became a hit. But it wasn't until the single "In Da Club" hit airwaves that Fifty became an icon. The song exploded onto both the rap scene and mainstream radio, forcing the Shady/Aftermath parent Interscope to push up the release date for Fifty's debut effort, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.Fifty was immediately thrown into the media spotlight and stories about his checkered past made him the most discussed rapper on the planet. Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold more than 850,000 copies in the first five days of its release and reached number one on the charts. After releasing albums with his group G-unit and appearing on group members' solo efforts, Fifty returned in 2005 with The Massacre. The album debuted at number one, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and spawned several hit singles. By this time, Fifty's fame had risen too quickly and he'd become more of an icon than a musician, which was exemplified by the lack of success of the soundtrack to his semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Fifty released his most recent album, Curtis, in 2007.50 Cent has earned 11 Grammy nominations and has had three singles top the charts. The multifaceted mogul has his hand in music, movies, books, clothing, footwear and drink products. Even if he never duplicates the unbelievable musical success of his debut album, he's got plenty of things to fall back on.
