50 Cent

50 Cent’s legacy as an entertainment icon was launched through the art form of rap. Growing up, the Queens, New York native started to experiment with music outside of regular hobbies. Around 1996, he aligned himself in Run-D.M.C.’s Jam Master Jay, who essentially taught 50 how to structure a record and more specifically, lace hooks. He eventually landed a deal with Columbia Records and went on to create his debut album, Power of the Dollar, in 2000. On the effort is a record called “How To Rob,” which tells a fictional story about then-popular rappers getting their pockets run. The track came out and bolted 50 into popularity, though the album didn’t.

Around that time, 50 Cent was ambushed outside of his grandmother’s house, where he was shot nine times. He was dropped by Columbia, but continued to work with his G-Unit collective cooking up music. He infiltrated the mixtape market with efforts like Guess Who’s Back? (2002), releasing his own iterations of popular rap songs at the moment. Soon after that, Eminem was put onto 50 as an artist and signed him to Shady Records through Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label. Fif’s label debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a project led by singles like “In Da Club,” "Many Men (Wish Death)" and "21 Questions." The chart-topping project nearly went platinum in the first week, solidifying Fif as a superstar. A respective movie and video game proved that as well.

He continued to grind through the 2000s, releasing multiplatinum-selling projects like The Massacre, which spent over a month at the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s 200 chart, radio dominant singles like “Candy Shop” and “How We Do” and stretching his solo and G-Unit brand’s reach to video game, fashion and TV spaces. Moving onto the 2010s, his music releases slowed down, but his business ventures shot up with minted endeavors with Branson Cognac, Le Chemin du Roi, Effen Vodka (previously) and of course his television takeover through his production company Green Light that aligned him with networks like Starz.

These days, Fif is rising the ranks as an entertainment role by overseeing some of the most popular shows on TV with BMF and Power, plus he has everything from movies to cartoons coming out in the near future. His music career was more than successful, as he’s accumulated a room full of plaques that are near diamond, and made rap history for dropping some of the most successful and respected rap songs/albums to date. His track record in the TV space should be just as interesting when it’s all said and done.

The Best Hip-Hop Tweets Of The Week, 6/2-6/8
The Best Hip-Hop Tweets Of The Week, 6/2-6/8
The Best Hip-Hop Tweets Of The Week, 6/2-6/8
This week in the hip-hop Twittersphere, Kanye West teased new projection locations to promote his highly anticipated Yeezus, Amanda Bynes apologizes to her ex-beau Kid Cudi, and Royce Da 5'9" explains why there's half-empty bottles around his studio...
Five Things We Learned From 50 Cent’s Forbes Life Interview
Five Things We Learned From 50 Cent’s Forbes Life Interview
Five Things We Learned From 50 Cent’s Forbes Life Interview
50 Cent is profiled in an upcoming issue of Forbes Life where he speaks on his love for cars and even dishes some interesting stories behind his past purchases. Fif, who's currently prepping the release of his fifth studio album Street King Immortal, sat with the business publication revealing details about his bulletproof whips, as well as a few near-death experiences behind his vehicle purchase
25 Rappers Striking Cliché Rapper Poses
There have been a lot cliché trends in rap—New Jack Swing, the Shiny suit, "Molly" rap—and fortunately, most have died off as quickly as they became popular. But one thing that's remained constant throughout hip-hop history is most rappers' inability to strike a normal pose on camera. Whether it's a mu...
47 Pictures Of Rappers’ Mugshots
47 Pictures Of Rappers’ Mugshots
47 Pictures Of Rappers’ Mugshots
News broke yesterday that Chief Keef was arrested for driving 110mph in a 55 mph zone. While speeding tickets are pretty common occurrence, the incident marks the second time in two weeks in which Keef found himself behind bars. If last week's marijuana arrest is any indication of how he handled his legal woes, it's likely that will see the GBE rapper laugh his arrest off with another mugshot Twee
50 Cent Helps Finance Funeral For Queens Teenager Killed By Apparent Stray Bullet
50 Cent Helps Finance Funeral For Queens Teenager Killed By Apparent Stray Bullet
50 Cent Helps Finance Funeral For Queens Teenager Killed By Apparent Stray Bullet
50 Cent may be colder than a beer out of the back of the refrigerator when it comes to dealing with other rappers, but the Queens MC still has a heart. The rap mogul recently helped fund a funeral for 14-year-old D'aja Robinson, a Queens teenager who was recently killed by an apparent stray bullet...
17 Baby Pictures Of Rappers
17 Baby Pictures Of Rappers
17 Baby Pictures Of Rappers
Nobody likes it when their baby pictures are shown to the their family and friends—it's usually an embarrassing experience to have people cloying over images of your infancy. Unfortunately the for rap world, privacy is a rarity afforded to few, and with the Internet becoming a hub for all things visual, that means a lot of embarrassing pictures are floating around in the digital aether. Now, X...
17 Rappers Who Became Reality TV Stars
17 Rappers Who Became Reality TV Stars
17 Rappers Who Became Reality TV Stars
Whether you like it or not, hip-hop is prime fodder for reality TV. From rapper-versus-rapper competitions to melodramatic relationship exposés, the inherent drama of the rap world offers a goldmine of opportunities for television producers. With ...
35 Yearbook Photos Of Rappers
35 Yearbook Photos Of Rappers
35 Yearbook Photos Of Rappers
May is coming to a close, and that means that most schools around the country will be out for summer. With that in mind, XXL decided to dig into the archives and look back at some of our favorite rappers when they were still in school. Now, her...
Six Unusual Rapper Side Hustles
Six Unusual Rapper Side Hustles
Six Unusual Rapper Side Hustles
From clothing lines to film production companies to even sports drinks, hip-hop has had a long history of rappers crossing over into the world of entrepreneurship. While some efforts have proved fruitful - most notably 50 Cent's Vitamin Water and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment - some have fallen completely flat...
Kings Of Courtside: 28 Pictures Of Rappers At NBA Games
Kings Of Courtside: 28 Pictures Of Rappers At NBA Games
Kings Of Courtside: 28 Pictures Of Rappers At NBA Games
The NBA playoffs are in full-swing, and with only four series left, it's coming down to the final moment to determine which team's the league champion. But the NBA playoffs aren't only good watching high intensity basketball; they're also prime events at which to see your favorite rapper (if you're into that kinda thing)...
From Freaknik To Fishsticks: 23 Hilarious Hip-Hop Moments In Cartoons
From Freaknik To Fishsticks: 23 Hilarious Hip-Hop Moments In Cartoons
From Freaknik To Fishsticks: 23 Hilarious Hip-Hop Moments In Cartoons
On 2005's "Old School Rules" by Danger Doom, Talib Kweli raps that, "I might be buggin but it seem to me/That cartoons be realer than reality TV." While we could easily enumerate a number of reasons why Kweli's lyric is a bold hyperbole to make - namely because they're cartoons - it definitely speaks to hip-hop's longstanding history with the animated arts. Whe...
Squad Up: 15 Pics Of Chief Keef With Other Rappers
Squad Up: 15 Pics Of Chief Keef With Other Rappers
Squad Up: 15 Pics Of Chief Keef With Other Rappers
Yesterday, the rap game was blessed with monumental news that Chief Keef had officially joined Gucci Mane's 1017 Brick Squad line-up. Although Keef reps his own Glory Boyz Entertainment clique, the signing marks a new union between Atlanta and Chicago, a cross-over of drill and trap...

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