On May 24, 2000, crack cocaine dealer and fledgling hip-hop artist 50 Cent was shot nine times in a battle over gang territory. Left for dead by his assailant, the young criminal's legacy seemed set: another anonymous African-American male violently killed in New York City's vicious underworld.
To the astonishment of his doctors, however, he slowly recovered from the attack. He felt he'd cheated the Grim Reaper, and began to approach life with newfound voracity.
'After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think I must have a purpose in life,' he writes in his memoir, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens.
While still in the recovery unit of the hospital, 50 Cent pledged to abandon the criminal lifestyle and to single-mindedly pursue a career in the music industry.
Fast forward seven years, and his improbable success story has reached unimaginable heights. His first two major label releases, Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003) and The Massacre (2005) each sold over 10 million copies worldwide. He has inspired a clothing line (G-unit clothing), a video game (50 Cent: Bulletproof) and a flavoured vitamin water drink (Formula 50). He's also starred in two movies, the semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) and the war-film Home of the Brave (2006).
Today, he presides over a hip-hop empire, and his net worth has been valued at $400,000,000 (Rs 16 billion). His third full-length album, Curtis, was released in September 2007, and has sold roughly two million copies worldwide.
And now, for the first time, 50 Cent will perform in India. On November 18, 50 Cent will bring his act to the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai.
So before you rock to his hits like In Da Club, Wanksta and Candy Shop, take a closer look at the star.
Text: Matthew Schneeberger | Photographs: Getty Images
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