50 Cent
SPEAKING CLIENT
50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson 26 years ago, is the real deal, the genuine article. He's a man of the streets, intimately familiar with its codes and its violence, but still, 50, an incredibly intelligent and deliberate man, holds himself with a regal air as if above the pettiness which surrounds him. Couple his true-life hardship with his knack for addictive, syrupy hooks, it's clear that 50 has exactly what it takes to ride down the road to riches and diamond rings.
Since he first dropped his bombs on the music world, 50 has earned 11 Grammy nominations, from Best New Artist to Best Rap Album for each of his first two efforts. Attesting to his worldwide popularity, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ hit #2 in the U.K. and #1 in Australia while The Massacre went #1 in both those countries, #2 in Sweden, and is the biggest-selling rap album in India, where it has been certified double platinum, selling more than 2,000,000 copies.
Back in the U.S., 50 has scored three singles claiming the #1 spot across the charts--R&B/Hip-hop, Rap, and Pop: “In Da Club,” “Candy Shop” and “21 Questions” (featuring Nate Dogg). Three more went Top 3 across the board: “P.I.M.P.,” “Just A Lil Bit” and “Disco Inferno.” Yet another four were Rap Top 10s: “Wanksta,” “Outta Control (Remix),” “Window Shopper” and “Best Friend.” Four of the above have been certified digital gold: “In Da Club,” “Candy Shop,” “P.I.M.P.” and “Disco Inferno.”
Curtis, his third major label album, rapper 50 Cent gives no quarter. As hard and brutally honest, yet musical and entertaining, as his first two albums--each of them #1 Pop, #1 R&B/Hip-hop and at least seven times platinum--50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) tells it like it is on Curtis and makes the resulting controversy pay as he heads “Straight to the Bank,” the title of the album’s first street track.
Curtis (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), features guest appearances by Eminem, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls.
Curtis continues 50 Cent’s phenomenal rise from the mean streets. His official debut album, 2003’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, sold 872,000 units in the first four days of its release, making it the fastest-selling debut disc in the SoundScan era (since 1991). The album was the biggest seller of 2003 and is currently ten times platinum worldwide. Later that year, The New Breed, a DVD with a bonus CD including new songs, charted #2 Pop and #1 R&B/Hip-Hop. His second album, 2005’s The Massacre, was the second biggest-selling album of the year and is now seven times platinum worldwide.
From music to movies, videogames to books, a clothing line to footwear, 50 has taken street culture by storm. But as Curtis proves, and as he says in “Straight to the Bank,” 50 Cent wants even more.
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