Curtis James Jackson III, known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, television producer, businessman, and record executive. Born in South Jamaica, a neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, he recorded his debut album Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records; however, he was struck by nine bullets during a shooting in May 2000, causing its release to be cancelled and Jackson to be dropped from the label. His 2002 mixtape, Guess Who's Back? was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records, an imprint of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records that same year.
Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of The Slim Shady LP that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem's alter ego, Slim Shady.
50 Cent Is the Future is the second mixtape by American rapper 50 Cent and first one by his rap group G-Unit. It was released on June 1, 2002 via Street Dance/Thurd World Muzic. The lone guest appearance is provided by UTP, which marks the first collaboration between the group and future member Young Buck.
Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York City. The group's roster originally included Jungle, Wiz, and Horse. Horse left the group in 2002, and Jungle and Wiz carried on as a duo. Wiz was in turn replaced by Nashawn, Nas's cousin.
Percy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, and helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas. He is documented to be the first to use the phrase "illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel", from the Marley Marl album In Control, Volume 1, which was an inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.
Joseph Antonio Cartagena, better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992 until pursuing a solo career with the release of his debut studio album, Represent (1993) the following year. Cartegena formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s, through which he has signed fellow New York artists including Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, and Cuban Link, as well as then-unknown producers DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre.
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from Queens, New York formed in 1991. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy and Havoc, they are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hop. Mobb Deep became one of the most successful rap duos of all time, having sold over three million records. Their best-known albums are The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999), and their most successful singles were "Shook Ones " and "Survival of the Fittest." They were known for their dark and hardcore delivery.
Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing with Eminem, 50 Cent also worked heavily with Dr. Dre acting as the album's executive producers, who worked to combine the gangsta rap and R&B combo prevalent in New York hip hop. Additional production is provided by Mike Elizondo, Sha Money XL, Mr. Porter, Rockwilder, Dirty Swift, Megahertz, and more.
"Ghetto Qur'an (Forgive Me)" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent from his unreleased Columbia Records debut album Power of the Dollar and the song itself was leaked in early 2000. The song mentions drug dealers from the 1980s in his neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens.
Curtis Williams, more commonly known as Spider Loc, is an American rapper and actor. He was formerly signed to Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records.
N.O.R.E. is the debut studio album by American rapper Noreaga. It was released on July 7, 1998, by Penalty Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Criteria Studios in Miami, at The Hit Factory, Electric Lady Studios, The Cutting Room and Right Track Recording in New York, at Bearsville Studios, and at House Of Hits. Production was handled by Trackmasters, L.E.S., Curt Gowdy, Dame Grease, DJ Clue?, EZ Elpee, Ken "DURO" Ifill, Marley Marl, Nashiem Myrick, SPK, Swizz Beatz, The Neptunes and J "Waxx" Garfield. It features guest appearances from Musaliny-N-Maze, Nature, Big Pun, Busta Rhymes, Cam'ron, Carl Thomas, Chico DeBarge, Jadakiss, Kid Capri, Kool G Rap, Nas, Spliff Star and Styles P.
"Magic Stick" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring fellow American rapper 50 Cent, released on April 8, 2003 as the second single from her third studio album La Bella Mafia (2003). The song was produced by Carlos "Fantom of the Beat" Evans. Despite not having a physical release or music video, the song performed very well on the charts, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"How to Rob" is a song by American hip hop recording artists 50 Cent and Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, released in August 1999 as the former's commercial debut single by Columbia Records. The song was intended as the lead single from the 50 Cent's debut studio album Power of the Dollar, which was ultimately shelved by the label due to controversies surrounding the artist. Following this, it was instead released in promotion for the soundtrack to the 1999 film In Too Deep. The latter performer, credited as "the Madd Rapper", included the song as the final track on his debut album, Tell Em Why You Madd (2000). Furthermore, the song was also included on 50 Cent's 2017 greatest hits album, Best Of. The song was produced by affiliates and then-labelmates of both performers, Trackmasters.
"Can't Leave 'em Alone" is a R&B song recorded by American singer Ciara featuring rapper 50 Cent for Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution (2006). Written by Ciara, LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, and 50 Cent, it is the fourth release and official third single from the album. It was solicited to Mainstream Urban radio stations on June 12, 2007 and Rhythmic stations on July 10, 2007.
"Thug Love" is a song recorded by American rapper 50 Cent released on September 21, 1999, for his debut studio album Power of the Dollar (2000). The song was written by 50 Cent, Rashad Smith, Joshua Michael Schwartz, Brian Kierulf and Nycolia "Tye-V" Turman and was produced by Smith with co-production from Schwartz and Kierulf. The song features guest vocals from American girl group Destiny's Child. A music video was to be filmed to accompany the song, but was cancelled when 50 Cent was shot nine times just three days before the video was scheduled to be filmed.
"Your Life's on the Line" is a song by rapper 50 Cent, from his shelved debut studio album Power of the Dollar (2000). The song was released as the third and final single from the album on October 12, 1999, and peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. It contains a diss towards rapper Ja Rule and his record label Murder Inc. The song contains interpolation from Onyx's song "Nigga Bridges" and a line that is similar to dialogue from a scene in the movie 48 Hrs.
The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke and Tone. Active from the mid-late 1980s to the early 2000s, the group was more often known as a duo, Poke & Tone; it was joined by now-former members Frank "Nitty" Pimentel, Alex Richberg and Curt Gowdy to form Trackmasters. Throughout their career, they have been credited on albums and singles for hip hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent.
Guess Who's Back? is the debut official mixtape by American rapper 50 Cent, released May 21, 2002 on independent label Full Clip Records in the United States. It is his first official release after his 2000 effort Power of the Dollar went unreleased due to Columbia Records' discovery of a May 2000 shooting where 50 Cent was struck by nine bullets, and was subsequently dropped from the label as a result. The mixtape features production by Trackmasters, DJ Clark Kent, Father Shaheed, Sha Money XL, Red Spyda, and Terence Dudley. Guess Who's Back? received generally positive reviews from music critics and peaked at number 28 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
Shane Lee Lindstrom, known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer from Ontario. Working predominantly in hip hop and trap music, he has produced hit songs and albums for various musical acts since 2011. His credits include the singles "Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, and "Motorsport" by Migos. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Nicki Minaj on 6ix9ine's 2018 single "Fefe", which peaked at number three on both the Canadian Hot 100 and US Billboard Hot 100.
Best of 50 Cent is the first greatest hits album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on March 31, 2017, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The compilation includes tracks from five of his previous studio albums: Power of the Dollar (2000), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003), The Massacre (2005), Curtis (2007) and Before I Self Destruct (2009). Also included are songs from the soundtrack to the film Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005). It also includes the non-album singles "Get Up" and "I Get It In". Best of 50 Cent anthologizes the majority of the singles that 50 Cent released during his joint deals with Eminem's Shady, Dr. Dre's Aftermath, and major-label Interscope. This is the first Shady Records album that does not feature Eminem on a song.
