50 Cent: The Life Story Behind Rap's Survivor

South Jamaica, Queens and a Childhood Without Parents

Curtis James Jackson III, known as 50 Cent, was born on 6 July 1975 in South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, and he was raised by his mother, Sabrina, who was a drug dealer, and who died when Curtis was eight years old, in a fire that was later said to have been started deliberately, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents, with his mother’s extended family. He grew up in a neighbourhood that was poor, violent and dominated by the drug trade, and he has spoken about a childhood spent on the streets, about watching his mother work, about the absence of his father, who was never part of his life, and about the lessons he learned early, that the world was dangerous and that survival required toughness. His grandmother, who raised him, was a strict, loving figure, and she tried to keep him in school and out of trouble, but the streets of South Jamaica, which offered money and status to a teenager, were a powerful pull, and by the age of twelve he was dealing drugs himself, a decision that would shape the next decade of his life.

He attended school in Queens, but his education was secondary to the street life, and he has described himself as a bright student who was bored by the classroom and drawn to the money and the excitement of the drug trade, and by his teens he was earning a significant income from dealing, with a lifestyle that included cars, clothes and jewellery, and a reputation that grew with his success. He was arrested several times as a teenager, and he spent time in a boot camp, a military-style correctional facility, a experience that he has described as a turning point, because it showed him the consequences of the life he was living, and because it gave him time to think about what he wanted to do. He has also spoken about the death of his mother as the central fact of his childhood, one that left him angry, lonely and determined to make something of himself, and that anger, which he carried into his music, is the fuel of his best work.

South Jamaica in the 1980s and 1990s was a place of crack, of violence, of police raids, and Curtis grew up inside it, watching friends die, watching neighbours go to prison, and learning to navigate a world where trust was rare and danger was constant, and that experience, which he has described in interviews and in his music, gave him a perspective that few rappers possess, because he was not pretending to be from the streets, he was from them, and the details in his songs, the corners, the deals, the police, are specific because they are remembered, not imagined. He was also a talented athlete, playing sports at school, and a gifted storyteller, with a sense of humour and a directness that would later make him a compelling rapper, and the combination, a street background and a natural talent for words, is the foundation of his career.

Dealing, Prison and the Decision to Rap

He began rapping in the late 1990s, after a friend introduced him to the producer Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who taught him how to write songs, how to structure a verse, how to make a hook, and who became a mentor, and Curtis, who had been dealing drugs, began to see music as a way out, a legitimate path that could give him the money and the status he had been seeking on the streets. He recorded his first songs in Jam Master Jay’s studio, and he began to build a reputation in Queens as a rapper with a distinctive voice, a deep, gravelly delivery, and a storytelling ability that set him apart, and he signed to Columbia Records in 1999, a deal that seemed like the break he had been waiting for. The Columbia deal, however, ended before an album was released, after he recorded the song How to Rob, a humorous track in which he imagined robbing famous rappers, a song that made him enemies in the industry and that led to a confrontation with the rapper Ja Rule, a feud that would last for years and that would shape his early career.

The feud with Ja Rule, which began with How to Rob and escalated into diss tracks, into confrontations and into violence, was a central part of 50 Cent’s early story, and it was also a marketing tool, because it gave him a rival, a narrative and a reason for audiences to pay attention, and he used it skilfully, releasing mixtapes that attacked Ja Rule and that built his reputation as a fearless, funny and ruthless rapper. He was dropped by Columbia in 2000, after the label decided that he was too controversial, and he returned to the streets, to dealing, and to making mixtapes, a period that he has described as the lowest of his life, with little money, with enemies in the industry and with a future that looked uncertain, and it was during this period that he was shot, an event that would change everything.

He has spoken about the decision to rap as a decision to survive, not as a career choice but as a necessity, because the streets were killing his friends and because music offered a way to tell his story, to make money and to get out, and that urgency, which is audible in his early mixtapes, is the reason they connected with listeners, because they sounded like a man who had something to say and who was running out of time to say it. The mixtapes, which he gave away for free, built him a following in New York, and they caught the attention of Eminem, who heard them and decided to sign him, a decision that would make him a star, and that would prove that the years of waiting, of dealing, of being shot, had not been wasted.

Nine Bullets: The Shooting That Changed Everything

On 29 May 2000, Curtis Jackson was shot nine times outside his grandmother’s house in South Jamaica, Queens, in an attack that left him with wounds to his hand, arm, hip, both legs, chest and face, and that nearly killed him, and he spent thirteen days in hospital, recovering from injuries that included a bullet fragment lodged in his tongue, which gave his voice a distinctive slur that became part of his sound. The shooting, which was never solved, was widely believed to be connected to his feud with Ja Rule and to his drug-dealing past, and it became the defining event of his life, a story that he has told in interviews, in songs and in his film, and that gave him a credibility as a survivor that few rappers possess. He has said that the shooting changed him, that it made him more focused, more determined, and more aware of his mortality, and that it gave him a story that no other rapper could tell, because he had lived it, and the nine bullets, which he has referenced in his stage name, in his tattoos and in his music, became a symbol of his survival.

The recovery was long and painful, with months of rehabilitation, and during that time he wrote songs, recorded mixtapes and planned his comeback, with a determination that was fuelled by the knowledge that he had nearly died, and that he had been given a second chance. He released the mixtape Guess Who’s Back in 2002, a collection that caught the attention of Eminem, who heard it and invited him to Los Angeles, where he signed to Eminem’s Shady Records and to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, a deal that put him alongside two of the most powerful figures in hip-hop, and that gave him the platform he had been waiting for. The mixtape’s title was a statement, a declaration that he was back, and that he was not going to be ignored, and the industry, which had dropped him two years earlier, was now competing to sign him.

The shooting also gave him a distinctive voice, literally, because the bullet fragment in his tongue changed the way he pronounced certain sounds, giving his delivery a slur that made him instantly recognisable, and he has said that the injury, which could have ended his career, instead gave him a sound that set him apart. The nine bullets became a part of his mythology, a story that he has told so often that it has become a legend, and the legend, which is based on a real event, is the reason that his debut album, when it arrived, was treated as more than a record, but as a document of survival, and that is why it connected with audiences who had never been to South Jamaica, because survival is a universal story.

Eminem, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and In da Club

Get Rich or Die Tryin’, released in February 2003, was one of the most successful debut albums in hip-hop history, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than eight million copies in the United States, and producing the number-one single In da Club, a song with a Dr. Dre beat and a hook that became an anthem, played in clubs, on radio and at parties around the world. The album’s other singles, 21 Questions, featuring Nate Dogg, and P.I.M.P., were also hits, and the record’s sound, a mix of Dr. Dre’s polished production, Eminem’s dark humour and 50 Cent’s street storytelling, was a perfect combination, and it established him as a star, with a voice, a story and a style that were unmistakable. The album was also a commercial phenomenon, with a film, a video game and a clothing line all following, and it made 50 Cent one of the most famous rappers in the world, at the age of twenty-seven, after a decade of struggle.

The album’s success was built on the story of the shooting, on the mixtapes that had built his following, and on the support of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who gave him the best beats, the best promotion and the credibility of their names, and the combination, a survivor’s story, a hit single and two of the biggest names in rap, was unbeatable. He toured the album around the world, playing arenas and festivals, and he became known for a stage presence that was confident, charismatic and commanding, with a voice that filled a room and a persona that was both menacing and funny, and the tour’s success, which was measured in sold-out shows and in merchandise, made him a wealthy man, with a fortune that he would soon invest in business ventures that would make him even richer. The album’s title, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which was also the title of his film, became a motto, a statement of intent that captured the urgency of his life.

He followed the debut with the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2005, a semi-autobiographical movie in which he played a character based on himself, a drug dealer who becomes a rapper, and the film, which was directed by Jim Sheridan, was a modest commercial success, although critics were divided, and it showed a willingness to tell his story in a new medium, and to use his fame to build a career beyond music. The film’s soundtrack, which featured his songs, was also a hit, and the project, which was a collaboration with Eminem and Dr. Dre, was a sign of how far he had come, from a mixtape rapper in Queens to a film star with a major studio release, in the space of two years.

The Massacre, G-Unit and the Rap Empire

The Massacre, released in March 2005, was his second album, and it debuted at number one, selling more than a million copies in its first week, with the singles Candy Shop, featuring Olivia, and Just a Lil Bit, both of which became hits, and the album’s success confirmed that Get Rich or Die Tryin’ had not been a one-off, but the beginning of a career. He also founded the group G-Unit, with the rappers Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck, and the group’s album, Beg for Mercy, released in 2003, was a commercial success, and the G-Unit brand, which included a record label, a clothing line and a book imprint, became a business empire, with 50 Cent at its centre, a rapper who understood branding, marketing and the power of a name. The G-Unit years were a period of intense productivity, with albums, mixtapes and tours, and they established him as a businessman as well as a musician, a fact that would become more important in the years that followed.

Curtis, released in September 2007, was his third album, and it was released on the same day as Kanye West’s Graduation, a coincidence that the two rappers turned into a contest, with 50 Cent saying that he would retire if Kanye outsold him, a bet that he lost, as Graduation sold more copies, a result that was treated as a changing of the guard in hip-hop, from gangsta rap to a more varied sound, and that marked the beginning of a decline in 50 Cent’s commercial fortunes. The album, which featured the singles I Get Money and Ayo Technology, featuring Justin Timberlake, was a commercial success, but it did not match the sales of his first two records, and the loss to Kanye, which was widely covered, was a blow to his pride, and it showed that the rap landscape was changing, with a new generation of artists, led by Kanye, taking the centre stage. He has since spoken about the contest with a mixture of humour and regret, saying that it was a mistake to make the bet, and that it taught him about the changing nature of the industry.

The G-Unit empire began to fray in the late 2000s, with disputes between 50 Cent and Young Buck, with the label’s artists leaving, and with the music industry itself changing, with streaming replacing album sales and with a new generation of rappers, led by Drake and Kendrick Lamar, taking over, and 50 Cent, who had been at the top for five years, found himself in a different position, no longer the biggest rapper in the world, but a veteran, with a catalogue, a brand and a business sense that would serve him well in the next phase of his career. He released the album Before I Self Destruct in 2009 and Animal Ambition in 2014, records that were less successful commercially, but that showed a rapper who was still working, still writing and still performing, even as the spotlight moved elsewhere.

Vitamin Water, Business and the Billion-Dollar Bet

His most successful business venture was Vitamin Water, a flavoured water company in which he had invested, taking shares instead of a cash endorsement fee, a decision that made him a fortune when the Coca-Cola Company bought the brand, Glacéau, in 2007 for 4.1 billion dollars, with 50 Cent’s stake reported to be worth around 100 million dollars, a figure that made headlines and that established him as a savvy businessman, not just a rapper. The deal was a turning point, because it showed that a rapper could make more money from business than from music, and it gave him the capital to invest in other ventures, including a headphone company, a vodka brand, a boxing promotion company and a television production company, and it made him a model for a new generation of artists who saw business as a part of their career, not as a side project. He has spoken about the Vitamin Water deal as a lesson in the value of equity, of owning a piece of a company rather than taking a fee, and that lesson, which he learned from his managers, has shaped his business career ever since.

He also invested in the headphone company SMS Audio, in the vodka brand Effen, and in the boxing promotion company SMS Promotions, and he became known as an entrepreneur who understood branding, who knew how to use his fame to sell a product, and who was willing to take risks on new ventures. The business career was not without setbacks: he filed for bankruptcy in 2015, a legal move that was widely reported, and that he described as a business decision, a way to restructure his debts, and he emerged from it with his fortune largely intact, and with a new focus on television, which would become his most successful venture. The bankruptcy, which was a surprise to many, was a reminder that even a successful businessman can face difficulties, and that the music industry, which had made him rich, could also be unforgiving.

The business ventures taught him a different set of skills from music, about negotiation, about contracts, about marketing, and those skills, which he has applied to his television career, have made him one of the most successful rapper-turned-producers in Hollywood, with a slate of shows that are profitable, popular and critically respected, and the Vitamin Water deal, which was the foundation of that career, is still the most famous example of a rapper making a fortune outside music, a deal that is studied in business schools and that is cited whenever artists talk about ownership and equity.

Power, Television and the Second Career

Power, the television drama that 50 Cent created and executive-produced, premiered on the Starz network in June 2014, and it told the story of James Ghost St. Patrick, a nightclub owner and drug dealer in New York, played by Omari Hardwick, and the show, which ran for six seasons until 2020, became one of the most successful series in the network’s history, with a large, loyal audience and a set of spin-offs, including Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force, each of which he executive-produced. The show’s success was a vindication of 50 Cent’s instincts as a storyteller, because it was based on his own life, on the world of South Jamaica, on the drug trade, on the choices that people make, and it was told with a directness and a authenticity that audiences recognised, and the spin-offs, which have continued to be successful, have made him a television mogul, with a production company, G-Unit Film & Television, that has a deal with Starz and that produces a slate of shows. He also appeared in the show as Kanan, a character who was a mentor and a villain, a role that let him act, and that showed a screen presence that was commanding and charismatic.

His acting career, which began with Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2005, has continued with roles in films like Home of the Brave, Righteous Kill and Southpaw, and in television series like BMF, which he executive-produced, a drama about the Black Mafia Family, a drug organisation in Detroit, and which has been a success for Starz. The television work has given him a second career, one that is more stable than music, with a steady income, a creative outlet and a platform that reaches a large audience, and it has established him as a producer who understands story, character and audience, a set of skills that he learned, in part, from his years as a rapper, telling stories in three-minute songs. He has also written books, including a memoir and a self-help book, and he has become a public figure who is known as much for his business and television work as for his music.

Today 50 Cent is a television producer, a businessman, an actor and a rapper, still performing, still recording, still touring, and still telling the story of South Jamaica, of survival, of getting rich or dying trying, and the fact that he is doing so with the same directness and the same humour that he had as a young rapper in Queens suggests that the boy who was shot nine times and who came back is still the foundation of the man. His story, from a drug dealer in South Jamaica to a television mogul, remains one of the most remarkable in hip-hop, and his influence, on music, on business and on television, is likely to last for a long time.

He has also written books, including The 50th Law, published in 2009 and co-written with Robert Greene, the author of The 48 Laws of Power, a self-help book about fearlessness, about strategy, and about the lessons he learned on the streets, and Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter, published in 2020, a memoir and business guide, and the books, which have sold well, and which have been praised for their directness, their honesty, and their practical advice, established him as an author, not just a rapper, with a second career that is as important as his first, and that reflects his own experience, as a drug dealer, as a rapper, as a businessman, and as a television producer, and that is a legacy that goes beyond music, and that is as important as any song he has written, because it is about sharing what he has learned, and that is a rare thing, in hip-hop, for a star to write a book, and to do it well, and 50 Cent did it, twice, and that is a measure of his intelligence, his discipline, and his desire to help others, especially young people from backgrounds like his, to succeed, and that is a story that is, by any measure, remarkable.

My Take:

When I listen to Get Rich or Die Tryin’ now, more than twenty years after it came out, the thing that still strikes me is how complete it is, how every song, from In da Club to 21 Questions to Many Men, feels like it belongs, and how the album’s sound, Dr. Dre’s polished beats, Eminem’s dark humour, 50 Cent’s gravelly voice, is a perfect combination that has not been matched since. The album works because it is a story, the story of a man who was shot nine times and came back, and every song is a chapter, about survival, about money, about revenge, about love, and the story is true, which is why it connected with audiences who had never been to South Jamaica, because survival is a universal story, and 50 Cent tells it with a directness that is rare in rap, without ornament, without apology, and that directness is the reason the album still sounds fresh.

In da Club is the song I would play for someone who wants to understand 50 Cent in three minutes, because it is a perfect pop-rap record, with a beat that is instantly recognisable, a hook that is impossible to forget, and a vocal that is confident, funny and menacing at the same time, and it became an anthem, played in clubs, at parties, on radio, around the world, and it is still played today, which is a measure of how good it is. The song’s success was not an accident; it was the result of Dr. Dre’s production, of 50 Cent’s delivery, and of a hook that was written to be sung by a crowd, and the combination, which was planned, is the reason it worked, and the reason it has lasted, because a great hook, like a great melody, does not go out of fashion.

The shooting is the event that I think about most when I consider 50 Cent’s career, because it is the moment that made him, and the moment that could have ended him, and the fact that he survived nine bullets and came back to make a record about it is the central fact of his story. The bullet fragment in his tongue, which gave his voice a slur, became a part of his sound, a distinctive quality that made him instantly recognisable, and the story, which he has told many times, became a legend, and the legend became a brand, and the brand became a business empire, and that progression, from a shooting to a fortune, is the most American story in hip-hop, a story of survival, of reinvention, of turning a near-death experience into a career. I think the shooting is the reason his debut album felt so urgent, because it was made by a man who knew he could die, and who was not going to waste the time he had been given.

The Vitamin Water deal is the business move I admire most, because it is a lesson in the value of equity, of owning a piece of a company rather than taking a fee, and 50 Cent, who took shares instead of cash, made around 100 million dollars when Coca-Cola bought the brand, a fortune that changed his life and that established him as a businessman, not just a rapper. The deal is studied in business schools, it is cited whenever artists talk about ownership, and it is a proof that a rapper can be a savvy investor, that fame, used well, can be turned into wealth, and that the music is only the beginning of a career, not the end. I think the deal’s significance goes beyond the money, because it showed a generation of artists that they did not have to depend on record sales, that they could build businesses, and that lesson has shaped hip-hop ever since.

Power is the television show I respect most, because it is a drama that is based on 50 Cent’s own life, on the world of South Jamaica, on the drug trade, on the choices that people make, and it is told with a directness and an authenticity that audiences recognised, and its success, six seasons and three spin-offs, is a vindication of his instincts as a storyteller. The show’s protagonist, Ghost, is a version of 50 Cent himself, a man who wants to go legitimate but who is pulled back by the streets, and that story, which is a classic American story, is told with a skill that comes from living it, not from studying it, and the spin-offs, which have continued to be successful, prove that the world he created is rich enough to sustain multiple series, and that is a rare achievement for a first-time television producer.

The feud with Ja Rule is the part of his early career that I find most complicated, because it was both a genuine conflict, with real violence, and a marketing tool, a rivalry that gave 50 Cent a narrative, a reason for audiences to pay attention, and he used it skilfully, releasing mixtapes that attacked Ja Rule and that built his reputation as a fearless rapper. The feud’s consequences were serious, including the shooting, which was widely believed to be connected to it, and the violence, which was real, is a reminder that rap feuds, which are often treated as entertainment, can have real-world consequences, and that the line between art and life, in hip-hop, is thinner than it looks. I think the feud is best understood as a product of its time, a moment when rap was more confrontational, and when 50 Cent, who was young and angry, used that confrontation to make his name, and the fact that he survived it, and that Ja Rule did not, is the reason his career lasted and Ja Rule’s did not.

The bankruptcy of 2015 is the event I think is most misunderstood, because it was reported as a failure, as a rapper who had lost his fortune, when in fact it was a legal strategy, a way to restructure debts, and 50 Cent emerged from it with his fortune largely intact, and with a new focus on television, which would become his most successful venture. The bankruptcy is a reminder that the music business is unforgiving, that even a star who has sold millions of records can face financial difficulties, and that the ability to recover, to adapt, to find a new path, is more important than the ability to avoid a setback. I think the bankruptcy, paradoxically, made him a better businessman, because it taught him about the legal and financial side of the industry, and it gave him the freedom to focus on television, where he has been more successful than he ever was in music.

If a new listener asked me where to start with 50 Cent, I would begin with Get Rich or Die Tryin’, because it is a complete album, with a story, a sound and a voice that are unmistakable, and then I would go to The Massacre, to hear the follow-up, and then to Power, the television show, to see where the story went next, and those three works, taken together, show the arc, from a survivor in Queens to a star to a television mogul, in a way that no single record can. After that I would go to the mixtapes, to hear the hungry rapper before the fame, and the journey through those works is the journey of an artist who turned survival into art, and art into business, and business into television, and that is a journey that few rappers have made.

What 50 Cent has given hip-hop, beyond the music, is a model of how to turn a rap career into a business empire, of an artist who understood branding, marketing and equity, and who used his fame to build a fortune, a television company and a lasting legacy. That model matters, because the music industry has changed, with streaming replacing album sales, and artists now need to be businessmen as well as musicians, and 50 Cent, who learned that lesson early, through the Vitamin Water deal, is the pioneer of that model, a rapper who showed that the music is only the beginning, and that the real money, and the real power, is in ownership. I think young rappers will look at his career and see a blueprint, a proof that it is possible to survive the streets, to survive a shooting, and to build an empire, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single song.

The South Jamaica thread runs through everything he does, and I think it is the most important part of his story, because it is not a marketing detail but a real influence. He grew up in a housing project, he lost his mother at eight, he dealt drugs at twelve, he was shot nine times at twenty-five, and those experiences, of poverty, of violence, of survival, are in every song he has written, from In da Club to Many Men to the theme of Power, because he is not inventing a persona, he is reporting a life, and the audience can tell the difference, because the details are specific, the streets are real, the feeling is real, and that is why his work resonates with people who have never been to Queens as well as with people who grew up there.

Looking at the whole arc, from a drug dealer in South Jamaica to a television mogul, I see a career that was built on survival, on talent and on a business sense that is rare in music, and I think that combination is its strength. 50 Cent has been a rapper, a film star, a businessman, a television producer and an author, and each of those roles has left something in the work, a lesson, a skill, a perspective, and the result is an artist who is harder to categorise than almost anyone of his generation. That is not a failure of branding, it is a sign of a person who kept growing, and the audience that has grown with him, from the mixtape years to the present, has been rewarded with a career that is honest, varied and unmistakably his, and I expect the next chapter to be as surprising as the last.

The 50th Law is the book I admire most, because it is a self-help book co-written with Robert Greene, about fearlessness, about strategy, and about the lessons 50 Cent learned on the streets, and the book, which has sold well, and which has been praised for its directness, its honesty, and its practical advice, established him as an author, not just a rapper, with a second career that is as important as his first, and that reflects his own experience, as a drug dealer, as a rapper, as a businessman, and as a television producer, and that is a legacy that goes beyond music, and that is as important as any song he has written, because it is about sharing what he has learned, and that is a rare thing, in hip-hop, for a star to write a book, and to do it well, and 50 Cent did it, and that is a measure of his intelligence, his discipline, and his desire to help others, especially young people from backgrounds like his, to succeed.

Den of Thieves, the 2018 heist film in which 50 Cent played Enson Levoux, is the film role I return to most, because it is a supporting part, in an ensemble, with Gerard Butler, and 50 Cent plays it with a directness, a toughness, and a humour that makes the character memorable, even in a film full of stars, and the performance, which is quiet, observant, and, above all, real, is a reminder that 50 Cent is not just a rapper, but an actor, one who understands that a supporting role can be as important as a lead, and that generosity, which is the mark of a great actor, is the reason he is respected by other actors, and the reason his acting career, which began with Get Rich or Die Tryin’, has lasted, when other rappers’ film careers have faded, because he was never just about himself, he was about the work, about the story, about the ensemble, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single film.

BMF, the Starz series about the Black Mafia Family that 50 Cent executive-produced, is the television project I think best shows his instincts as a producer, because it is a drama about a drug organisation in Detroit, a story that is, in many ways, his own story, about the streets, about family, about choices, and the show, which has been a success for Starz, with a large, loyal audience, is a testament to his understanding of story, of character, and of audience, a set of skills that he learned, in part, from his years as a rapper, telling stories in three-minute songs, and that he has applied, now, to television, with a slate of shows that are profitable, popular, and, above all, true, and that is a legacy that goes beyond music, and that is as important as any album he has made, because it is about building a world, a world that is South Jamaica, that is Detroit, that is America, and that is a world worth watching.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where was 50 Cent born?

50 Cent was born as Curtis James Jackson III on 6 July 1975 in South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, and he was raised by his grandparents after his mother died when he was eight.

How many times was 50 Cent shot?

He was shot nine times on 29 May 2000 outside his grandmother’s house in Queens, and he spent thirteen days in hospital recovering from the attack.

What was 50 Cent’s debut album?

Get Rich or Die Tryin’, released in February 2003, was his debut studio album, featuring the number-one single In da Club, and it sold more than eight million copies in the United States.

How did 50 Cent make money from Vitamin Water?

He took shares in the Vitamin Water company Glacéau instead of a cash endorsement fee, and when Coca-Cola bought the brand in 2007 for 4.1 billion dollars his stake was reported to be worth around 100 million dollars.

What television show did 50 Cent create?

He created and executive-produced Power, a drama that ran on Starz from 2014 to 2020, and he executive-produces its spin-offs Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force.

Who discovered 50 Cent?

Eminem heard his mixtape Guess Who’s Back in 2002 and signed him to Shady Records, in partnership with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, after he had been dropped by Columbia Records.