50 Cent

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, is an American rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur — one of the best-selling artists in the history of hip-hop and the founder of G-Unit Records.

50 Cent was born on July 6, 1975, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He grew up in one of the toughest neighbourhoods in the city and lost his mother at the age of eight. Raised by his grandparents, he started rapping in his early teens, channelling the realities of street life into a writing voice that would later define a generation of East Coast rap.

Beginnings on the underground: 50 Cent first broke through in the late 1990s after being signed by Jam Master Jay (Run-D.M.C.) to JMJ Records. Following an early Columbia Records deal that was put on hold after he survived being shot nine times in May 2000 outside his grandmother’s house in Queens, 50 Cent built one of the most legendary mixtape runs in hip-hop history — most notably “Guess Who’s Back?” and “50 Cent Is the Future” — which made him the most-talked-about underground rapper in New York.

His mixtape work caught the attention of Eminem, who signed him to Shady Records in 2002 in a joint deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, under Interscope. The result was “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” released in February 2003 — an album that sold 872,000 copies in its first week, was certified diamond, and is widely considered one of the most important debut albums in hip-hop. Anchored by hits including “In da Club,” “21 Questions,” “P.I.M.P.,” and “Many Men,” the record made 50 Cent a global superstar virtually overnight.

He followed it up with “The Massacre” (2005), which sold 1.14 million copies in its first four days and produced era-defining singles like “Candy Shop,” “Disco Inferno,” and “Just a Lil Bit.” Subsequent albums — “Curtis” (2007), “Before I Self Destruct” (2009), and “Animal Ambition” (2014) — continued to extend his commercial reach and influence.

50 Cent founded G-Unit Records in 2003, signing artists including Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and The Game, and turning the label into one of the most powerful independent imprints of the 2000s. The G-Unit group’s debut album, “Beg for Mercy,” was certified double platinum and helped define the soundscape of New York rap during that era.

Beyond music, 50 Cent has built one of the most successful business and entertainment careers in modern hip-hop. He famously took an equity stake in Vitaminwater that delivered a reported nine-figure payout when Coca-Cola acquired the brand. He has since launched Sire Spirits (Branson Cognac, Le Chemin du Roi champagne), Effen Vodka, and a sprawling television empire through his production company G-Unit Film & Television — most notably the “Power” franchise on Starz, which has become one of the most-watched series in cable history.

In 2023 and 2024, 50 Cent embarked on The Final Lap Tour, a global victory lap celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” The tour sold out arenas across North America and Europe, and brought him to Paris for a sold-out night at La Défense Arena in 2024 — La Pépite 47 covered the show on the ground, capturing the production scale and the cultural weight of one of the most iconic rappers of the modern era.