Born into a notorious Queens Drugs Dynasty during the late '70s, 50 Cent lost those closest to him at an early age. Raised without a father, 50's mother, whoes name carries weight in the street (hint, hint) was found dead under mysterious circumstances before he could hit his teens. The orphaned youth was taken in by his grandparends,Who provided for 50. But his desire for things would drive him to the block. Which in his cas was the infamous New York Avenue, now knowns as Guy R. Brewer Blvd. There, 50 stepped up to get his rep up, amassing a small fortune and a lengthy rap shee. but the birth of his son put things in perspective for the post adolescent, and 50 began to pursue rap seriously. He signed with JMJ, the label of Run DMC DJ Jame Master Jay and began learning his trade. JMJ would teach the young buck to count bars and structure sons. Unfortunately, caught up in industry limbo, there wasn't much JMJ could do for 50.
The platiume hitmakers trackmasters took notice of 50 and signed him to Columbia Recors in 1999. they shipped 50 to Upstate NY where they locked him up in the studio for 2 and a half weeks. He turned out 36 songs in this short period, 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" blew through the roof and playfully painted him as a deliriously 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 replied to the song. " It wasn't personal. "It was comedy based on truth, which made it so funny," says 50 Cent
In April of '00, 50 was shot 9 times, including a .9mm bullet to the face, in front of his grandmothers house in Queens. He spent the next few months in recovery while Columbia Records dropped him from the label. 50 didn't fold, he flew. Right into the zone. He banged out track after track, despite no income or backing, with his new business partner and friend Sha Money XL. The 2 recorded over 30 songs, strictly for mix-tapes, with the soul purpose of building a buzz. 50's street value rose and by the end of the spring of '01 he'd released the new material independtly on the makeshift LP, "guess who's back?". Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by his crew, G-Unit, 50 stayed on his grind adn made more songs. But it was different this time. Rather than create new songs as they had before, 50 decided to showcase his hit-making ability by retouching first-class beats which had already been used. They released the red, white and blue bootleg, "50 Cent Is The Future," revisiting material by Jay-Z and even Rapheal Saadiq.
That's when the unbelievable happened, and hip-hop history was written. The energetic CD caught the ear of Supa MC Eminem, and within a week Em was on the radio saying, ' 50 cent is my favorite rapper right now.' Em looked to mentor Dr. Dre to confirm his belief the young hitmaker, and the good doctor co-signed. Floored by the appreciation of the greats, 50 didn't hesitate in signing with the dream team. In the wake of his acquisition, 50 Cent has become the most sought after newcomer in almost a decade. Not since the summer of '94, when radio would play absolutely anything Notorious B.I.G related, has hip-hop seen buzz like this.
Even the clever businessman, 50 didn't let the oportunity escape him quickly released another bootleg of borrowed beats, " no Mercy, No Fear.' The CD featured only one new track, "Wanksta," which was certainly not intended for radio, but the streets couldn't wait for the official single and within weeks "Wanksta" became New York's most requested record. Thankfully, the stellar cut has found a home on the multi-platinum soundtrack to Eminem's smash movie, "8 Mile." With several huge hits already under his belt, 50 Cent is poised to be the artist to beat next year. He's coming with over ten incredible tracks stashed from last spring and newly recorded winners courtesy of Eminem, Who's really cut his production teeth of late, and hip-hop's greatest, highest-selling producer Dr. Dre. "Creatively, what more could i ask for?" he asks jokingly. "You know if me and Em is in the smae rom this it's gonna be a friendly competition, neither of us wana let the other down. |
