50 Cent | Artist profile

About 50 Cent

Curtis James Jackson III, born on July 6, 1975, in Queens, New York City, is an American rapper, actor, television producer, record executive, and businessman. He began his musical career in 1996 and recorded his debut album, Power of the Dollar, for Columbia Records in 1999–2000. Following a shooting in May 2000 in which he was struck by nine bullets, the album's release was canceled, and he was dropped from the label. In 2002, his mixtape Guess Who's Back? was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. Jackson's debut studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', was released in 2003 and achieved critical and commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 chart. The album included the singles "In da Club" and "21 Questions," both of which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2003, he also launched G-Unit Records, a label named after the hip-hop group he formed two years earlier, with initial signees including fellow East Coast rappers Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo.