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The rapper known as 50 Cent was born Curtis Jackson on July 6, 1976 in the Jamaica district of Queens, New York,

He was left an orphan at age 8 when his mother, a drug dealer, was reportedly murdered under mysterious circumstances. Sent to live with his grandparents, he was by age 12 selling crack on neighborhood street corners.

Since then, 50 Cent has followed the classic script of street-kid-made-good to become rap's highest money maker and hottest commodity. However, the road to success continues to be strewn with life-threatening mayhem, threats and counterthreats, and an on-again, off-again public feud with fellow rapper Ja Rule.

The first artist to be signed jointly to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label and Eminem's Shady Records label, 50 Cent was suddenly a hot property with the March 2005 release of his newest album, The Massacre, which sold more than 1 million copies the first day.

Kanye vs. 50

In November, 2005 Fiddy made his Hollywood film debut in Get Rich or Die Tryin' (movie trailer) starring an inner city drug dealer who walks away from a life of crime to pursue a successful career in rap music.

His small screen debut as himself, in an episode called "Pranksta Rap," was in the animated hit The Simpsons.

50's latest CD, Curtis, was released the same day in September 2007 that fellow rapper Kanye West unveiled his new CD... heating up their ongoing rivalry.

50 Cent - The official site, featuring the latest news, biography, discography, audio files and video clips, picture gallery, tour dates, online store and forum.

50 Cent News - Breaking news and feature stories about the rapper from various sources around the Web, from Topix.net

MTV.com - 50 Cent - Music videos and downloads, biography, the latest and archived news features, photos, ringtones.

AOL Music: 50 Cent - Artist profile and full biography, discography, audio files, video clips, ringtones.

50 Cent Lyrics - Song lyrics listed by Most Popular, or browseable in a complete list, with related links.

50 Cent G-Unit DeskSite - Sign up for free music videos, automatically downloaded to your desktop, with details on system requirements, FAQ.

50CentFan.com - Fan site, though no longer updated, still offering a bio, archived news and features, picture galleries, wallpapers, icons.

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