Happy Birthday to Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent.
Today, July 6, 2021 marks the rapper’s 46th birthday, marking almost two decades in the industry and an indescribable impact on current and future generations of musicians and entertainers.
Born in the South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson started selling drugs at just 12-years-old during the 1980s crack epidemic. He later began pursuing a career in music and in 2000, he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records--but just days before the planned release, he was shot and the album never came out.
In 2002, after he released the compilation album Guess Who’s Back?, 50 Cent was discovered by Eminem and signed to Shady Records, under Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, 50 became one of the world’s best selling rappers. In 2003, he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. Throughout his illustrious career in the music industry, he has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards.
As an actor, Jackson appeared in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2005, the war film Home of the Brave the next year, and the crime thriller film Righteous Kill in 2008. Most notably, he executive-produced and starred in the television series Power and is slated to produce its subsequent spin-offs.
Almost 20 years after he first entered the industry, 50 Cent is still just as influential as he was back then, most recently executive producing the Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. He’s also featured on one of the tracks, “The Woo”, which became a top ten single after its release in 2020.
With such an impressive career under his belt, as he continues to evolve, it’s clear that 50 Cent isn’t going anywhere.
Happy Birthday, Curtis!
