50 Cent

📍South Jamaica, Queens, NY, USA

“Curtis James Jackson III was born in Queens in July 1975 and grew up in South Jamaica, a working-class neighbourhood in south-east Queens. His mother, Sabrina, was a teenager when she had him and raised him on her own, but she lost her life when he was eight, and he went to live with his grandparents in their crowded house in South Jamaica, along with his many aunts and uncles. His grandmother, especially, became the centre of his world. The 1980s crack epidemic swept through South Jamaica, and Curtis began selling drugs at twelve, while also boxing at a local gym a neighbour had opened for young people; he loved boxing and dreamed of the Olympics. He has said that when he wasn't killing time in school, he was sparring in the gym or on the streets. He was arrested several times as a teenager, and after a spell in a boot camp programme, he decided to change his life, taking the name 50 Cent from a Brooklyn robber of the 1980s to signify change. In 1996 a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, who taught him how to count bars, write choruses and structure songs, and how to make a record. After surviving a shooting in 2000 that nearly ended his career, he released mixtapes that caught the attention of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who signed him. His debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', in 2003, sold millions, and he became a successful businessman, producer and actor, creating the television series Power. He has supported young people in South Jamaica through his foundation.”

Sources: new.blackpast.org Wikipedia: 50 Cent