50 Cent

Biography

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, he recorded his debut album Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records; however, he was struck by nine bullets during a shooting in May 2000, causing its release to be cancelled. Jackson is to be dropped from the label. His 2002 mixtape, Guess Who's Back?, was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records, an imprint of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records that same year. His debut studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003), was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. Peaking atop the Billboard200, it spawned the Billboard Hot 100-number singles "In da Club" and "21 Questions" (featuring Nate Dogg). It received nonuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That same year, he launched the record label G-Unit Records, the namesake of a hip-hop group he formed two years prior; the label's initial signees were its members, fellow East Coast rappers Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. His second album, The Massacre (2005), was met with similar success and supported by his third number-one single, "Candy Shop" (featuring Olivia). He adopted a lighter, further commercially oriented approach for his third and fourth albums, Curtis (2007) and Before I Self Destruct (2009)—both were met with critical and commercial declines—and aimed for a return to his roots with his fifth album, Animal Ambition (2014), which was met with mixed reviews. He has since focused on his career in television and media, having executive-produced and starred in the television series Power (2014–2020), as well as its numerous spin-offs under his company G-Unit Films and Television Inc. Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and earned several accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. In his acting career, Jackson first starred in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), which received critical panning. He was also cast in the war film Home of the Brave (2006) and the crime thriller Righteous Kill (2008). Billboard ranked Jackson as 17th on their "50 Greatest Rappers" list in 2023. and named him the sixth top artist of the 2000s decade. Rolling Stone ranked Get Rich or Die Tryin' and "In da Club" in its lists of the "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and "100 Best Songs of the 2000s" at numbers 37 and 13, respectively. Description above from the Wikipedia article 50 Cent, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Marcus

Get Rich or Die Tryin'

Clarence

Before I Self Destruct

Thigo

Dead Man Running

Spider

Righteous Kill

Self

50 Cent | X Games Barcelona 2013

Tino

Caught in the Crossfire

Lionel

Twelve

Black

Jack's Law

Jamal Aiken

Home of the Brave

Self

The Infamous Times, Volume I: The Original 50 Cent

Deon

All Things Fall Apart

Self

Morning Glory

Jimmy

13

Chief Carter

Boneyard

Self (archive footage)

You're Watching Video Music Box

Self

Beef

Self

Beef II

Self

Beef III

Sonny

Setup

Rich

Gun

Stan Green

Streets of Blood

Detective Hardwick

Blood Out

Self

Live!

Self (archive footage)

DJ Juice: The King is Back Mixtape Blend DVD Vol. 70

Self (archive footage)

DJ Cinema Presents: Masterpiece Theater Blend Dvd

Self

Black and Blue: Legends of the Hip-Hop Cop

Malo

Freelancers

Hush

Escape Plan

Self

How to Make Money Selling Drugs

Lamar

Fire with Fire

Actor

Hoodz: Big Beef

Pimp Clate Johnson

The Frozen Ground

The Pharmacy

The Prince

50 Cent

Hyperfate

50 Cent

Spy

Self

Born To Ball

Self

50 Cent | Shoot First

Self

50 Cent | Who Dares Wins

Self

50 Cent | The New Breed

Jordan Mains

Southpaw

Self

Hip-Hop Honeys | Las Vegas

Self

Not Afraid: The Shady Records Story

Self

Live 8

Self

THE SHOW: California Love

Self

Champs

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump

50 Cent

Skillhouse

Self (archive footage)

Tale of the Tape

Self (archive footage)

TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy

Self

How Music Got Free

Self

50 Cent | Rap Star

50 Cent

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Self

Money, Power, Respect: Hip Hop Billion Dollar Industry

50 Cent

Last Vegas

Hush

Escape Plan 2: Hades

Enson Levoux

Den of Thieves

Self

Elvis | Viva Las Vegas

Hush

Escape Plan: The Extractors

Self

50 Cent | Live in Concert

Self (archive footage)

50 Cent: Refuse 2 Die

50 Cent

50 Cent: Gangsta Unit

Self

LA Originals

Self

Jackass: Steve-O YouTube Videos

Self

Letter to the President

Self

A Portrait of an Artist: The Making of 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'

Self (archive footage)

50 Cent | The Best Music Videos On DVD

Self

50 Cent & G-Unit | In Da Club: The Movie

Drew "Easy Day" Farrell

Expend4bles

50 Cent

Missionary

Self

Tupac: Resurrection

Self

The Game: The Documentary

50 Cent: Rise Above

Self

SMACK: Platinum Edition

Balrog

Street Fighter

Self (archive footage)

Stans