Shady Records in the context of "Curtis (50 Cent album)"

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.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing with Eminem, 50 Cent also worked heavily with Dr. Dre acting as the album's executive producers, who worked to combine the gangsta rap and R&B combo prevalent in New York hip-hop. Additional production is provided by Mike Elizondo, Sha Money XL (who also executive-produced the album), Mr. Porter, Rockwilder, Dirty Swift, Megahertz, and more.

The album also contains guest appearances from Eminem, Young Buck, and Nate Dogg, as well as features from G-Unit co-members Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. Prior to the album, 50 Cent released several mixtapes alongside the Trackmasters, and in 2000 recorded an unreleased album titled Power of the Dollar, widely believed to be his first. However, after suffering legal troubles and being blackballed from the music industry, 50 Cent found difficulty in securing another major-label recording contract, until he signed with Eminem's Shady Records in 2002.

"21 Questions" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent featuring fellow American rapper Nate Dogg. Released in March 2003 through Interscope Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Eminem's Shady Records, and 50 Cent's own G-Unit Records as the second single from 50 Cent's debut studio album Get Rich or Die Tryin', it differs from his previous singles and most of the songs on the album by being an R&B-influenced love song, largely themed around a series of questions pertaining to a relationship between 50 Cent and an unnamed girlfriend, and contains elements of Barry White's 1978 song "It's Only Love Doing Its Thing".

"21 Questions" peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2003, becoming the second consecutive chart-topping single for 50 Cent, following the album's lead single "In da Club", and the first for Nate Dogg. Overall, the song spent four consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 and twenty-three weeks on the chart. It was also successful internationally, reaching the top ten in the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and the top five in Canada and Australia.

The Massacre is the second studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released on March 8, 2005, via Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. With production from Dr. Dre, Eminem, Scott Storch, Sha Money XL and others, the album features guest appearances from G-Unit affiliates Tony Yayo, Olivia, Eminem and Jamie Foxx.

Preceded by the singles "Disco Inferno" and "Candy Shop", the album debuted atop the Billboard 200, selling 1.15 million copies in its first four days; it remained atop the chart for six weeks after its release. The Massacre received generally positive reviews from music critics, and was 50 Cent's second consecutive number one album on the chart. Following its release, the album spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "Just A Lil Bit" and "Outta Control."

"Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album, The Massacre (2005). It features Olivia and was written by 50 Cent and the song's producer, Scott Storch. The single was released through Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records.

"Candy Shop" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming 50 Cent's third number one single and fifth top-ten single. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it a retread of 50 Cent's collaboration with Lil' Kim on "Magic Stick" (2003). At the 2006 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Rap Song, and at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video was nominated for Best Male Video.

Before I Self Destruct is the fourth studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released November 16, 2009, on Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records, Interscope Records and Universal Music Group. The album is his final solo release with Shady, Aftermath and Interscope excluding his 2017 Greatest Hits album Best Of 50 Cent. An accompanying feature film of the same name coincided with its release, and is available within the album's packaging.

Before I Self Destruct debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, becoming 50 Cent's fourth consecutive album to do so in the country, while its lead single, "Baby by Me", peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American broadcaster and former rapper. He first gained recognition with his 2003 single "Pump It Up", which peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his eponymous debut studio album (2003). A critical and commercial success, the album peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200, although it was his only major label release for Def Jam Recordings. He released seven more independent albums to continued critical praise. While doing so, he performed as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, who signed with Eminem's Shady Records in 2012; the group released two studio albums.

In 2018, he retired from recording and shifted focus onto his career in broadcasting. Three years prior, he began hosting The Joe Budden Podcast, which has been running for 800 episodes. In 2017, he had a much-publicized run as a co-host (alongside DJ Akademiks) for Complex magazine's web show Everyday Struggle. He hosted State of the Culture alongside Remy Ma for the network Revolt from 2018 to 2020. For his outspoken views on prominent hip hop figures, Budden has been described as "the Howard Stern of hip hop".