50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, grew up in the South JamaIca neighborhood of Queens in New York CitY. He grew up without a father and was raised by his mother Sabrina Jackson, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen. Sabrina, a cocaine dealer,..!! raised Jackson until the age of eight, when she was murdered.. Twenty-three at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed. After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents' house with his eight aunts and uncles.He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come bacK to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit".Jackson grew up with his younger cousin, Michael Francis, who earned the nickname "25 Cent" for being his younger counterpart. Francis raps under the stage name "Two Five".!!!!
Jackson's mug shot on August 23, 1994. Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven. At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids. "When I wasn't killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled. In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ". At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs. He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"..!!!!
On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for helping to sell four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starter gun. He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, but managed to serve six months in a shock incarceration boot camp where he earned his GED. Jackson said that he did not use cocaine himself, he only sold it. He adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change". The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means". 50 Cent opens up about his name: In plenty of early 50 Cent interviews, when asked about his moniker, he said it represented a change. Well, on this DVD he goes in depth about being named after one of BK's most feared stick-up kids. Both 50s have a lot in common. 50 the gangster was shot 23 times over nine different occasions. And the nine-times-shot 50 Cent the rapper says he, too, believes in getting money by any means to provide for himself, just like the street legend.
50 Cent the gangster's life: The documentary goes through the gamut of the original 50's life, starting with his early days when he robbed everything from liquor stores to rappers and people at parties. Surprisingly, with all the chaos he caused, 50 was only 5 feet 2 inches tall. DJs Eric B and Scratch are among those giving testimonial interviews.
The murder of the original 50 Cent, and the shooting of 50 Cent the MC: The documentary tells the story of how the original 50's exploits caught up to him and he was ultimately shot several times in a project hallway. That was only the beginning, though, of the events that led to his death. "Infamous Times" also takes another look at what happened to 50 the MC when he was shot in Queens in front of his grandmother's house. Although 50 doesn't speak too much about the identities of those who shot him, the DVD gives its own theories and even shows a picture of one of the alleged assailants. (For more on 50 Cent, check out the feature "All Eyes On 50 Cent: The Sequel").....!!!!
Born in the South Jamaica section of Queens, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has lived in New York City all his life. Raised by his grandparents after his father ran out and his mother was shot when he was only eight. Growing up, the Queens rapper originally wanted to be a heavyweight boxer, but eventually fell back on rapping. DJs had taken it upon themselves to release two Best of 50 Cent mix CDs, before he had even signed to a major label. 50 Cent hit the scene with "How To Rob An Industry Nigga" and he's been on a rampage ever since dealing with bootleggers, label back stabbing and other platinum selling artists trying to get at him physically. In 1999 his album Power of the Dollar, was heavily bootlegged and Trackmasters/Columbia never released it. Supposedly, Trackmasters weren't comfortable with him being caught up in the streets and getting shot three days before filming the video for "Thug Love," (with Destiny's Child) -- his first single. 50 was shot nine times that night, two shots hitting him in the head, the bullet that struck his face he carries as a reminder of what happened. That event led to the fall out with Columbia and negotiating his release from their grasps. He still showed love and rhymed over a Trackmasters produced remix of "I'm Gonna Be Alright" on J-Lo's latest album, but rivals at Murder Inc. had 50 cut from the track which could have launched the rapper. This all changed in one night when Eminem said on a radio show that "50 Cent is definitely my favorite rapper right now, he's the only one keeping it real." The very next day a bidding war started on 50, ending when 50 signed to Eminem's very own label Shady/Aftermath. 50 Cent's fame has exploded, being produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem and finally making his debut album "Get rich or Die Tryin'." 50 has full access and advantage of the streets through mix-tapes; that's his forum because he controls it. 50 Cent is the most anticipated artist of 2003. It's well deserved because he's "been patiently waiting."!!!
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