People only just realising what 50 Cent's stage name actually means
Rapper 50 Cent has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award and three American Music Awards - but some people still have no idea how he got his stage name
He started his music career almost 30 years ago - but many fans are only just learning what 50 Cent 's stage name actually means. 50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, grew up in Queens, New York - and came up against more than any child ever should.
When the rapper was just eight years old, his mum, Sabrina, a drug dealer, died in a fire, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents after his dad departed. Between school and boxing at the local gym, the then 11-year-old was "selling crack on the strip". He remembered bringing guns and drug money to school - and was eventually caught by metal detectors and arrested for it.
In 1994, he was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for drug-related crimes, but he served six months in a boot camp and earned his GED in the process. After this, he vowed to turn his life around and adopted the nickname 50 Cent as a metaphor for change.
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He says the name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as 50 Cent. Speaking about the nickname, he said: "It says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."
Two years on from his sentencing, 50 Cent started rapping in a friend's basement. He recorded his debut album Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records in 1999 to 2000 - but its release was cancelled because he was shot. He ended up being dropped by the label.
But in 2002, Eminem discovered 50 Cent's mixtape Guess Who's Back? - and signed him to his label Shady Records. From here, his popularity grew and he went on to release In da Club, Just A Lil Bit, Many Men, 21 Questions, Intro, p.i.m.p, and Candy Shop, alongside other well-known songs.
A statement on Hip Hop Gods reads: " So far, 50 Cent has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several prestigious awards, including a Grammy Award and three American Music Awards. Billboard ranked him as the third-best rapper of the 00s, and the sixth-best overall artist of the same decade. His single In da Club was included at spot #13 on Rolling Stones magazine’s list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s!"
Commenting on how he got his iconic stage name, one Quora user said: "The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as 50 Cent; Jackson chose it 'because it says everything I want it to say'." Another user added: "50 Cent’s real name is Curtis James Jackson III. His stage name 50 Cent was chosen because it's a metaphor for change."
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