|
Born into a notorious
Queens drug dynasty during the late '70s, 50 Cent lost those closest to
him at an early age. Raised without a father, 50's mother (a drug
dealer) was found dead under mysterious circumstances before he could
hit his teens. His grandparents, who provided for 50, took in the
orphaned youth. But his desire for material possessions would drive him
to the block, which was the infamous New York Avenue, now known as Guy
R. Brewer Blvd. There 50 amassed a small fortune and a lengthy rap
sheet. But the birth of his son put things in perspective for the young
adult, and 50 turned away from slinging to focus on his rap career. He
signed with JMJ, the label of Run DMC DJ Jam Master Jay and began
learning his trade. JMJ would teach 50 to count bars and structure
songs. Unfortunately, with little influence in the industry anymore,
there wasn't much JMJ could do for 50.
The platinum hitmakers Trackmasters took notice of 50 and signed him to
Columbia Records in 1999. Under their direction, 50 went to a studio in
upstate New York for a two and a half week period. He turned out 36 songs
in this time, which resulted in Power Of A Dollar, an unreleased
masterpiece that Blaze Magazine judged a classic. 50's stick-up kid anthem
"How to Rob" was incredibly popular as it portrayed him as a
hungry up-and-comer daydreaming of robbing famous rappers. But 50 and the
fans were the only ones laughing. Unable to take a joke, Jay-Z, Big Pun,
Sticky Fingaz, and Ghostface Killah all lashed out at 50 for the song.
In April of 2000, 50 was shot 9 times, including once in the face, in
front of his grandmother’s house in Queens. He spent the next few months
in recovery and during this time Columbia Records dropped him from the
label (this was the main reason why Power of a Dollar was never
released). 50 didn't fold. He hooked up with friend Sha Money XL and the
two recorded more than 30 songs together. 50's street value rose and by
the end of the spring of '01 he'd released the new material independently
on the makeshift LP, Guess Who's Back? The
buzz began to build as 50 churned out more songs and built a new back-up
crew, G-Unit. 50 released 50 Cent is the Future which
showcased revised versions of beats by superstars such as Jay-Z and
Rapheal Saadiq.
50’s big break arrived when Eminem and Dr. Dre got wind of Guess
Who’s back? and 50 cent is the Future. The rap icons flew 50
to LA and signed him in a joint venture to Em’s Shady Records and
Dre’s Aftermath label. While 50 worked on his major-label debut, he
released yet another bootleg of borrowed beats called No Mercy, No Fear.
The first single off the album, “Wanksta,” was not intended for radio;
however, the song was leaked and became an instant hit, eventually landing
on the soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile. In
February of 2003, 50 released Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The album
went straight to number one and went platinum within the first week and
half after the release, selling 1.5 million copies, the most ever for a
debut. 50 then released his
follow-up album, Massacre, early in 2005 and while it was not as
popular as Get Rich or Die Tryin’, it was still a solid seller.
With two LP’s under his belt, 50’s career has blossomed and as
his fan base continues to grow there is no telling how high this new
phenomenon can rise.
For Free 50 Cent Downloads Check out MPFree.com
|
