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50 Cent (a.k.a. Fifty or
Fiddy as pronounced in African American Vernacular English, born Curtis
Jackson on July 6, 1976 in Queens, New York), is a popular African
American hip-hop artist. Once almost unknown outside his hometown of
southside Jamaica, Queens, he is currently signed to Eminem's record
label Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. The rapper,
who was the first to sign to Shady Records, was scouted before knowing
Eminem. Eminem first encountered 50 Cent with MTV News reporter Sway
Calloway; Eminem apparently had not heard any of 50 Cent's performances
before seeing him in person. He appeared on the 8 Mile soundtrack with
an accompanying song and video ("Wanksta") that immediately went into
heavy rotation on BET, MTV, and radio stations across the country. In
the opinion of many observers his continued success seems guaranteed by
his large underground fanbase and the street credibility he has gained
by appearing on almost every major mix tape sold in New York in the past
few years.
Interscope Records has sold
50 Cent as the "real deal", as the success of an artist in gangsta rap
depends on an image of street credibility and reputation. His mother was
killed in a drug deal, he was a drug dealer himself, he has been shot
nine times (nine bullets in one single shootout, not nine separate
incidents as some believe), and he built a large rap empire in New York
City before ever signing a major record deal. These facts are probably
used as part of the marketing strategy for his brand.
* * * *
Early Life
Curtis Jackson never knew
his crack cocaine-addicted father, and his mother, a bisexual Queens
drug dealer working under "Fat Cat", was murdered when Jackson was only
eight years old. Her death had a major impact on Jackson, the degree of
which is speculated over by fans, and her sexuality also played a key
part in Jackson's emotional growth, which he would later reference in
the song "Hate It or Love It" off The Game's album The Documentary), "Comin'
up, I was confused, my momma kissin' a girl/ Confusion occurs, comin' up
in a cold world". The same song also contains a mild indictment of his
father's absence, "Daddy ain't around, probably out committin'
felonies".
After his mother's death,
Jackson ended up living with his grandparents, where as a teenager he
became immersed in the local drug trade. Hustling around his native
Jamaica, Queens neighborhood, Jackson went by the name of "Boo Boo". It
was during this period of distributing narcotics that Jackson met fellow
Queens native Tony Yayo, who would later become a member of Jackson's
G-Unit group. In June of 1994, Jackson was arrested on felony drug
charges. Being a second time offender, Jackson was able to plead out of
significant prison time by accepting seven months in a "shock
incarceration" boot camp. He would later boast about this period as his
doing "seven to nine."
He became a father to a
son, Marquise in 1997. Jackson met up with Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC
fame and was signed to his label JMJ. Jay taught him the basics and then
50 left the label in search of someone who could help him achieve his
dream of rap stardom. He teamed up with the hip-hop production duo Track
Masters who recognized 50 Cent's talent for incisive lyrics and signed
him to Columbia Records in 1999. Although he looks back on this time
with displeasure (his biography refers to it as being "locked up in the
studio"), the 18 days spent in a studio in Upstate New York produced 36
tracks which later became his breakthrough album Power of the Dollar.
"How to Rob", the humorous ode to robbing a slew of industry rappers
(Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Busta Rhymes (Flipmode Squad), various members of
the Wu-Tang Clan, even Track Masters, and many more) was an instant hit
for New York radio. Power Of The Dollar was never released, due to his
shooting in 2000 and Columbia Records executives decided to drop him,
claiming the shooting was negative publicity.
Eminem & Shady Records
50 Cent is the Future was
heard by a very impressed Eminem who brought the rapper to Dr. Dre's
attention. Dre endorsed the ideas of signing a deal and working with 50
Cent on an album. Eminem was quick to get onto New York's hip-hop radio
circuit with the message that 50 Cent was his favorite rapper at the
moment. After a meeting with Interscope and Eminem in Los Angeles, 50
Cent quickly signed a deal with Interscope/ Aftermath (Dr. Dre's
label)/Shady (Eminem's label) to release a record. Before starting
production of his new album with Eminem and Dre, 50 quickly released
another bootleg album of his raps over stolen beats entitled No Mercy,
No Fear with the only 'original' production being "Wanksta", a veiled
dis aimed at 'industry' rapper Ja Rule. Although "Wanksta" was never
meant as a radio single, under the barrage of 50 Cent albums and the
buzz over Eminem's words of praise and subsequent deal with 50 Cent, "Wanksta"
quickly became the most requested song on New York radio. Capitalizing
on the appropriated song's success, it was added to Eminem's hit movie
soundtrack 8 Mile and had its own video release, quickly entering heavy
rotation on MTV, BET, MuchMusic, and radio stations around the country.
Wealth & Success
In its first week of
release, 50's first major label debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold
872,000 units. 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. On April 12, 2004 Get
Rich or Die Tryin' was certified seven times platinum (i.e. has sold
7,000,000 albums) by the RIAA.
50 Cent and the future
Although originally
planning on releasing a new album before the end of 2003, 50 decided to
push the album release back to February of 2005. "I was thinking of
releasing the next album in November, but I'm gonna wait," 50 Cent said
in April 2003. "Get Rich or Die Tryin -- I don't think it will be over
by then. I still got records I could shoot visuals for. I don't want to
get ahead of myself." 50 Cent has invested in G-Unit related promotions
as well as his own clothing line. After the release of Beg For Mercy
from his group G-Unit, he teamed up with Reebok to release his own
G-Unit Sneakers. Also the rapper invested in bottled water. 50 Cent
guest starred on an episode of The Simpsons entitled, Pranksta Rap on
February 13th, 2005.
On March 3, 2005, 50
released the album "The Massacre". It was originally entitled "St.
Valentine's Day Massacre", but changed when the album release date was
set back. He scored a hit with the album's first single, "Candy Shop".
The album has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. The album's
second single, "Just A Lil' Bit" peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A video game starring 50
Cent, called 50 Cent: Bulletproof, will be availible in Fall 2005. It is
published by VU Games. It will be available on the PlayStation 2 and the
Xbox, and there is another version in production for the PlayStation
Portable.
Disputes and controversy
Before even signing to
Eminem's and Dr. Dre's label, 50 Cent was engaged in a well-publicized
dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. The
rappers engaged in numerous mixtape "disses," but have since ended the
conflict. The conflict started from alleged accounts stemmed from an
apparent robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry led to a confrontation from a
member of Murder, Inc stabbing 50 Cent. Before the release of Get Rich
Or Die Tryin', Murder, Inc alongside The Source began a smear campaign
against the rapper. A restraining order document was floating around the
Internet stating that 50 Cent had placed label CEO, Irv Gotti and rapper
Black Child in the document forging a belief that 50 Cent is a "snitch"
or a police informant. Although 50 Cent dismissed the claims of a
restraining order, the bad publicity continues to be a tool used among
various rappers who engage in beef with G-Unit. This was one of the most
well known feuds in hip-hop history. Ja Rule eventaully tried to squash
the beef with 50 Cent by using Minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised
interview. Ja Rule soon lost credibility when the interview was done a
day before his album Blood From My Eye was release, in which 50 Cent
dismissed the interview as a blantant publicity stunt. However, as of
2004, 50 Cent had not commented much on Ja Rule's and Irv Gotti's
situation. The FBI is probing Murder Inc.'s '(Now referred to as simply
The Inc.)' ties to drug-kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.
50 Cent also has a rivalry
with former allies Shyne, Jadakiss, Nas, and Fat Joe. He claimed that
Nas had made disparaging comments about him and his G-Unit camp while
performing at a New York concert. The rapper has denounced Nas as a
traitor over the alleged signing to the Murder Inc label. 50 Cent points
out that Jadakiss and Fat Joe were notorious for allowing themselves to
partner up with Ja Rule while filming a video in which the rapper took
shots at him. He recorded the "Piggy Bank" attack directly at Jadakiss
and Fat Joe for their association with Ja Rule. Also, jailed rapper
Shyne was named as an enemy of 50 Cent. Shyne had Irv Gotti and Ja Rule
produce his album, and 50 Cent also attacked him for this association.
50 Cent has also had a long-standing dispute with former proteges Bang 'Em
Smurf and Domination over internal conflicts. On the song "Love Me" off
the 8 Mile soundtrack, 50 Cent criticized Lil' Kim for having breast
implants and discusses why he refused her request to be in a video clip
for her single "Magic Stick", which he refused to record with her,
citing that song was originally entitled to Miami rapper Trina.
50 Cent also had a little
known feud with Jay-Z in 1999. Jay-Z did not take to kindly to 50 Cent's
mention of him on "How To Rob," and Jay-Z made a diss aimed towards
50 Cent ("Go against Jigga your ass is dense/ Im about a dollar what the
fuck is 50 Cent/"). 50 Cent responded with "Be A Gentleman," though the
track was never heard by many due to 50 Cent getting dropped from
Columbia Records after his shooting. 50 Cent and Jay-Z eventually
squashed their beef, and they toured together in 2003. Jay-Z and 50 Cent
even appeared in a Reebok commercial together promoting their sneaker
lines, called S. Carter and the G-Unit, respectively.
While appearing at the
Summer Jam XI concert in New York, 50 Cent and his members of G-Unit
were being criticized for speaking out against other notable artists
including R&B singer R. Kelly. Before the singer was to come on stage,
50 Cent mentioned R. Kelly's pending child pornography trial. He and his
crew received mixed emotions from the crowd and chairs were thrown
onstage,(In which Jackson threw them back into the crowd) forcing 50
Cent and G-Unit to leave the stage for safety reasons. 50 Cent was also
dramatically booed off stage at the Reading Festival while on tour in
England. A rain of bottles (and a camp stool) hit him and his G-Unit
crew as they came onstage. Chants of "50 Cent is a wanksta" were heard
as the group was jeered and heckled throughout the short appearance.
50 Cent has also had feuds
with members of his own label. Most recently G-Unit member, The Game,
was a target of 50 Cent's feud. 50 Cent explained his displeasure of The
Game in Vibe Magazine and also publicly on New York's radio station Hot
97. The rapper officially booted The Game out over his disloyalty to not
participate in the rap war with Jadakiss, Nas and Fat Joe. The rapper
also claimed that he was not getting his proper credit for the debut of
The Game's Documentary album. The Game counters that he quit G-Unit
before being kicked out. During that dispute, a member of The Game's
entourage was shot and wounded after confrontation at Hot 97. After the
situation between them escalated, 50 Cent and The Game decided to hold a
press conference to announce their reconciliation. 50 Cent also launched
a new Charitable Organzation called G-Unity, aimed at helping the less
fortunate in the inner cities. Despite the truce, 50 Cent and The Game
now appear distant from one another. In recent magazines, 50 Cent is
still dissing The Game over the public fall-out. The rapper claimed that
he will not participate on the next album The Game releases and will
feel it through multi-platinum sells. And most recently G-Unit artist
Tony Yayo was blantantly dissing The Game on New York's Power 105 FM.
The Game has not responded to any of the comments. 50 Cent filed a
lawsuit against Jimmy Henchmen, the manager of The Game. The rapper sued
Henchmen over the filming of the DVD the original "50 Cent" in Infamous
Times. The movie chronicles the life of Kelvin "50 Cents" Martin and the
rapper authorized footage for the DVD. Henchmen dismissed the lawsuit,
stating that 50 Cent's jealousy to The Game was a reason for him to
react to suing him. The Game performance at Summer Jam XII only comfirms
that feud with G-Unit is still on-going. The Game abuptly brought out a
mascot looking like a rat wearing a G-Unit tank top. The rat was soon
beat down by members of Black Wall Street. The rat was apparently to
represent 50 Cent. The Game has responded to G-Unit by releasing 300
Bars and Running, a diss directly to 50 Cent and other members. He also
began selling G-Unot shirts on his website.
50 Cent also had a fall-out
with Eminem's former deejay Green Lantern. The deejay has been labeled a
"snitch" and "traitor" for his apparent phone conversation with rival
Jadakiss. Jadakiss had phone interview with DJ Green Lantern over his
the feud with 50 Cent. The deejay was apparently encouraging Jadakiss to
"deliver a major blow" to 50 Cent. The rapper never confronted the
deejay about the situation, but it did affect the relationship within
the Shady Records. The situation forced Green Lantern to leave Shady
Records and other ventures associated with Eminem.
On a taping of The O'Reilly
Factor, conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly has insisted boycotts
against rap music. O'Reilly named 50 Cent as a member of his crusade to
stop rappers who promote bad behavior from endorsing mainstream
merchandise. He criticized shoe maker Reebok for partnering up with 50
Cent to endorse his G-Unit Sneakers. O'Reilly has rallied a boycott
against the shoe maker. Despite the boycott, sales remain excellent, and
Reebok still continues to endorse 50 Cent's products. However, a
television advertisement for Reebok which featured 50 Cent was recently
taken off air in the United Kingdom. The advertisement contained lyrics
from one of 50's tracks, which resulted in complaints against their
violent imagery.
G-Unit Records
After the success of 50
Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin', Interscope granted 50 Cent his own label,
like his mentor Eminem. In 2003, G-Unit Records officially became a
record label. 50 Cent appointed his manager Sha Money XL as the
president. 50 Cent is the first signed artist to G-Unit Records besides
the original Shady and Aftermath Records. In 2003, the label signed on
Lloyd Banks (Christopher Lloyd), Tony Yayo (Marvin Bernard) and Young
Buck (David Danell Brown) as the established members of G-Unit. In 2004,
50 Cent alongside Dr. Dre signed The Game (Jayceon Taylor) to the label.
As of 2005, R & B singer Olivia (Olivia Longe), DJ Whoo Kid, and west
coast rapper Spider Loc joined G-Unit Records. 50 Cent had recently been
in the press. The rapper has been scouting for a new hardcore rap group.
50 Cent has officially signed the Brooklyn veteran-duo M.O.P., and
gangsta crooner Kokane is apparently signed to the G-Unit. The rapper is
in talks with Lil' Scrappy and Mobb Deep. Scouts have been also looking
for Houston rap legend Big Love of Candy Sto' Productions. There is no
official signing of these artists but it may happen within his upcoming
Anger Management Tour.
Criticisms
Along with the
aforementioned Bill O'Reilly, many other people have criticised 50 Cent
for being immoral. It is felt that his music celebrates guns and drugs,
without any emphasis on social or moral consciousness. More recently, 50
Cent has been chastised for being a "sellout" due to his generally
torpedinous flow, as well as for the lyrics being seen as shallow by
many listeners. Ironically, the Ja Rule feud was started when 50 labeled
Ja as a so-called "wanksta",
[Added by PSP: An unofficial biography of
50 Cent is being released entitled Refuse 2 Die -
see official press
release HERE.]
* * * *
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