50 Cent's new book, 50 x 50: 50 Cent in His Own Words, is in stores this month. Part photographic scrapbook, part memoir, 50 x 50 tells the story of the G-Unit mogul's rise from the streets of Southside Jamaica Queens to the top of the rap game. The book, which was co-authored by journalist Noah Callahan-Bever, features never before seen photos of young Curtis as a child and teenager from his old neighborhood as well as written anecdotes that bring the reader into 50's world.

The following is an excerpt from 50 x 50.

50 Cent: Southside until I die

If you want to understand me, you've got to understand Queens. Visually, it's the most suburban part of New York City. It's got long, quiet streets with freestanding houses placed between modest front and backyards. I've read magazine interviews where rappers say their 'hood is like every other 'hood. That might be true for some of them, but if they're from New York City, they're probably lying. Anyone who's ever been there will tell you, New York is totally different from the rest of the country. The buildings, the streets - just the number of m-s packed together - there's nothing like it. There's no part of Compton that looks like Harlem. There's no zone in Atlanta that could get mistaken for Bed-Stuy. It's just not gonna happen. In the rest of America they build out. In New York, they build up.

Click here to read the rest of the excerpt.

50 Cent will be at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at 4 Astor Place in New York City at 5:00 p.m. signing copies of 50 x 50.

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