50 Cent

Queens, New York rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson made his first musical attempt in 1996. The beats were provided by Run DMC's Jam Master Jay, yet the results came to nothing commercially. Undeterred, 50 signed to Columbia, but they didn't give his 'Power of the dollar' album a proper release. To make matters worse, 50 was shot. This turned out to be a blessing, however, as one of the bullets hit 50 in the mouth, gifting him a distinctive, slurring flow.

50 Cent was now hot property and signed with Eminem and Dr Dre's 'Shady/Aftermath' label. In the video for single 'In da club', 50 was built, like a robot by Eminem and Dre. This was somewhat prophetic, with 50 becoming a money-making machine, covering all demographic bases commercially. The bullet wounds proved his 'street' credibility and the literary set embraced his 'Pieces to weight' autobiography. The teenage girl market was covered with '21 Questions'... "I love you like a fat kid loves cake". Hardly Sartre to de Beauvoir, but it seems to have done the trick, with a record-breaking 872,000 copies of the 'Get rich or die tryin'' album moved in five days.

50's next album, 'The Massacre' didn't fare so well critically, but was a commercial success. At one point, 50 featured on four of the top ten Billboard records. 50 Cent's crew, 'G-Unit' also sold huge amounts, the trainer deal was inked with Reebok and the life-story movie 'Get rich or die tryin'' released. Adding to this ubiquity is 50's regular beef with rappers Ja Rule, The Game, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and Nas.

Discography:

Power of the dollar - 2000
Get rich or die tryin' - 2003
The Massacre - 2005
Get rich or die tryin' official sound-track  - 2005