About
Curtis James Jackson III, known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American-based singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, television producer and entrepreneur. 50 Cent soared to fame with his streetwise raps and rags-to-riches life story as highlighted in his 2003 debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin”.
He began his musical career with the production of Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but the album was never released as he was shot days before the planned release. 50 Cent released a compilation album “Guess Who’s Back?” in 2002, which gained him attention from Eminem and shortly after, 50 Cent signed to Shady Records. With support from Eminem and Dr. Dre, 50 Cent became one of the world’s best-selling rappers. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, which represented his G-Unit associates including Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck. For a short period, 50 Cent remained on the sidelines as his G-Unit affiliates released popular solo albums. However, the release of The Massacre, 50 Cent’s second album debuted at number one, sold millions of copies (over ten million worldwide) and hatched a series of top hits including “Disco Inferno”, “Candy Shop”, and “Just a Lil Bit”.
In 2012, 50 Cent released his fifth proper LP, which included features from Trey Songz, Yo Gotti, Jadakiss, Styles P, and Mr. Probz. Animal Ambition: An Untamed Desire to Win peaked at number four on the Billboard album chart.
Throughout his career, 50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has won several awards including a Grammy Award, four BET awards, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music awards and three American Music Awards. He was also ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s and the third-best rapper. Rolling Stone consider “In da Club” to be in their lists of “100 Best songs of the 2000s” placed at number 13.
Jackson has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films and Cheetah Vision. He has sold projects to six different networks including Power, which is a STARZ drama where he is a co-creator, executive producer and co-star. Jackson continues to make appearances in Television and Film.
