Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, and actor from New York City, New York. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His major-label debut Get Rich or Die Tryin, has been certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records, Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.
Throughout his music career, Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, 13 Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. Billboard magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000s and as the number one rap artist of the 2000s. Billboard ranked his album Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the twelfth best album of the 2000s and his album The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000s. 50 Cent released his fifth studio album, Animal Ambition on June 3, 2014, and is also reported to be working on his sixth studio album, Street King Immortal, which is set to be released on September 16.