50 Cent

50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) was born on July 6, 1976 in the Jamaica district of Queens, New York. 50's mother was 15 when he was born. His father had already left home and 50 Cent was sent to live with his grandparents. But by the age of 12, 50 Cent was on the streets selling crack. "Life is cheap in those places," he says. "You can have someone killed for $5,000." 50 Cent is the new King of hardcore hip-hop and doesn't just pay lip-service to the concept of "keepin' it real." He keeps it real in a way that, Steps for instance, didn't. 50 Cent's put-downs of every major figure in the rap game has made him something of a controversy magnet and a multi-million pound industry. "I'm from the bottom," he says. "When you're from the bottom you have nothing to lose so you say what you gotta say and don't worry about the consequences." 50 Cent was signed to Columbia Records in 1999. The rapper promptly cut 36 songs which resulted in Power of a Dollar, an unreleased album that featured the controversial single, How to Rob. In the song 50 daydreams of robbing famous rappers such as Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah and Sticky Fingaz. Unsurprisingly, the song's targets were not amused and a series of anonymous death threats followed. He was shot nine times, including a nine millimeter bullet to the face in April, 2000. He spent the next few months recovering and Columbia Records promptly dropped him from the label. Despite a lack of backing and money, 50 Cent teamed up with new business partner Sha Money XL and produced over 30 new songs with the sole purpose of creating a buzz on the underground tip. The recordings spread through New York on black market CDs and mix-tapes like a virus and the rapper eventually released the new material independently on the makeshift LP, Guess Who's Back. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by the G-Unit crew, 50 Cent kept grinding out more songs. With a red, white and blue bootleg called 50 Cent is the Future circulating, the 50 Cent spark was turning into a five-alarm fire. In the midst of a major-label bidding war between Jive, Universal and J, according to reports, Eminem began proclaiming repeatedly that 50 Cent was his favorite rapper. After consulting with Dr. Dre, Eminem ended up signing 50 Cent to his Shady/Aftermath label, reportedly for over a million dollars. 50 Cent has made it clear, though, that it wasn't the money that lured him to the Shady side of the tracks; it was the opportunity to work with the "dream team." In the wake of the deal, 50 Cent was becoming hailed as the most anticipated newcomer in almost a decade. Never one to miss an opportunity, 50 Cent quickly released a track called "Wanksta" which found a home on Eminem's multi-platinum 8 Mile soundtrack. With several huge hits already under his belt, 2003 could be 50 Cent's year. Promising an LP up to the snuff of rap classics like Illmatic, Ready to Die and Reasonable Doubt, 50 has big footprints to follow. But with production from both Dre and Eminem, an infectious, rugged flow and a vicious sense of humor, 50 Cent just might Get Rich or Die Trying.