Stage Name: Birthplace: Queens, New York |
In many ways the East Coast hardcore rapper, 50 Cent endured substantial obstacles throughout his young yet remarkably dramatic life before becoming in early 2003 the most-discussed figure in rap, if not pop music in general.
Answer question 1 at the end of the text.
Following an unsuccessful late-'90s run at mainstream success (foiled by an attempt on his life in 2000) and a successful run on the New York mixtape circuit (driven by his early-2000s bout with Ja Rule), Eminem signed 50 to a seven-figure contract in 2002 and helmed his quick rise toward crossover success in 2003.
Answer question 2 at the end of the text.
The product of a broken home in the rough Jamaica neighborhood of Queens and, in turn, the storied hood's hustling streets themselves, 50 lived everything most rappers write rhymes about but not all actually experience: drugs, crimes, imprisonments, stabbings, and most infamously of all, shootings -- all of this before he even released his debut album.
Answer question 3 at the end of the text.
Born Curtis Jackson and raised in Southside Jamaica, Queens, 50 grew up in a broken home. His hustler mother passed away (to pass away = morir-se) when he was only eight, and his father departed soon after, leaving his grandmother to parent him.
Answer question 4 at the end of the text.
As a teen, he followed the lead of his mother and began hustling (to hustle = estar ficat en negocis poc fiables, il·legals). The crack trade proved lucrative for 50, until he eventually encountered the law, that is, and began making visits to prison. It's around this point in the mid-'90s that he turned toward rap and away from crime.
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His debut album was, Power of the Dollar. A trio of singles preceded the album's proposed release: "Your Life's on the Line," "Thug Love" (featuring Destiny's Child), and "How to Rob."
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After the release of "How to Rob," he was stabbed (apunyalat)at the Hit Factory studio on West 54th Street in Manhattan. On May 24, 2000, an assassin attempted to take 50's life (to take his life = treure la seva vida, matar-lo) on 161st Street in Jamaica, Queens , shooting him (disparant-lo) nine times with a 9mm pistol while the rapper sat helpless in the passenger seat of a car. One shot pierced his cheek, another his hand, and the seven others his legs and thighs, yet he survived.
Answer question 7 at the end of the text.
During the next two years, 50 returned to the rap underground where he began. He formed a collective , worked closely with producer Sha Money XL . The rapper started to earn an esteemed reputation on the streets of New York. Eminem declared on a radio show his admiration for 50.
During the successive months, 50 worked closely with Em and Dre, who would produce his upcoming debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Before Get Rich dropped, though, Em debuted 50 on the 8 Mile soundtrack.
Answer question 8 at the end of the text.
"Wanksta" became a runaway hit in late 2002, setting the stage for "In da Club," the lead single from Get Rich. The two singles became crossover hits -- the former peaking at number 13 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, the latter at number one.
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Amid all this, 50 made headlines everywhere. He was jailed (va ser empresonat)on New Year's Eve 2002 for gun possession. . By the time Get Rich finally streeted on February 6, 2003, he had become the most discussed figure in the music industry, and his initial sales figures reflected this (a record-breaking 872,000 units moved in five days, the best-selling debut album sinceMay 1991), as did his omnipresence in the media.
Answer question 10 at the end of the text.
The debut, Beg for Mercy, hit the shelves in late 2003 and soon went platinum. The Massacre also sold extremely well, and was top of the album chart for a while.
50 Cent's biography