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. During a shooting in May 2000, he was struck by nine bullets, causing its release to be cancelled and Jackson 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 Billboard 200, it spawned the Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "In da Club" and "21 Questions" (featuring Nate Dogg), and received nonuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That same year, he launched the record label G-Unit Records, 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, yielding 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.
