In 2002, rapper
Eminem heard 50 Cent’s Canadian-recorded mixtape
Guess Who’s Back?, and immediately flew him to Los Angeles to meet his mentor, legendary West Coast producer
Dr. Dre. Impressed, the duo’s influence grabbed 50 a recording contract with
Interscope, the label on which 50 Cent released his first album
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003. Hyped into the stratosphere due to Eminem and Dre’s influence,
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ nonetheless garnered immense praise from critics and went on to sell over 6.3 million copies by the end of 2002.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ produced four singles:
"In Da Club",
"21 Questions",
"P.I.M.P.", and
"If I Can’t". The album also brought 50 Cent’s crew, G-Unit to fame, jumpstarting the careers of
The Game,
Young Buck,
Tony Yayo,
Olivia, and many others.
50 Has since released two more albums on Interscope,
The Massacre in 2005 and
Curtis in 2007. Both have been very successful, record-breaking albums in their own right, but some critics believe that neither are as good as
Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Nonetheless, the two albums have produced more than their fair share of hits, including
"Candy Shop",
"Amusement Park",
"I Get Money", and
Disco Inferno.
50 plans to release his fourth album,
Before I Self Destruct, sometime in 2008.
In addition to his rap career, 50 Cent is a successful entrepreneur who has his hand in a number of businesses, including a clothing line (
G-Unit Clothing), the video game industry (50 produced a video game entitled
50 Cent: Bulletproof for Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2005), and a line of condoms and personal fragrances. 50 Cent is also an established actor; after starring in the semi-autobiographical film
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2005 and the war drama
Home of the Brave in 2006, the rapper is set to appear in a 2008 police thriller titled
Righteous Kill alongside
Robert De Niro.