King of Queens: Chronicling 50 Cent’s Rise from Child Drug Dealer to the Pinnacle of Gangster Rap

Hip hop celebrated its golden jubilee on August 11, 2023 and the beloved genre, which reportedly evolved in the Bronx, undoubtedly has the rival borough of Queens to thank for its arguably most intense and deep product.

Apart from maybe Donald Trump, 50 Cent is probably Queens most noticeable export.

Curtis James Jackson, aka 50 Cent certainly became the go-to guy in the gangster rap subgenre and, while emerging rather late in the game (he released his first studio album at the age of 27), he stuck to his calling with dedication and definitely became the most feared rapper around, if deeply provocative diss tracks like ‘Your Life is on the Line’ and ‘Piggy Bank’ are anything to go by.

Eager to espouse his carefully-curated image as the quintessential survivor in his well-produced songs, his reputation was already established and sealed with the debut studio album Get Rich Quick or Die Tryin’ of 2003, which encapsulated the essential 50 personna in one music album.

And then he never looked back.

His critics say he was too eager to present and market himself as an indestructible cyborg out to dominate and completely take over the genre and leave his rivals reeling and had better let things breathe slowly. After all, if he really were destined for the top, he would rise, wouldn’t he?

But 50 Cent occasionally, some say perennially, couldn’t resist the temptation of rubbing his rival’s noses in the dirt. After all, that is what gangsters do. And the enduring and pervasive audacity and pluckiness which has been his creed would not permit him to sheepishly allow his rivals, whom he assesses as boring dilettantes, to saturate the airwaves with their measly presence.

He is South Jamaica, Queens, born and raised.  He never knew his father, and his mother, a drug dealer, died in a fire (some say he was murdered) when 50 was only eight years old. He was raised by his poor grandparents, who instilled the traits of grit and determination in him very early on.

But even as a child he had a lot of time on his hands and he also loved the finer things of life and had to start making money to fund his expensive tastes. Starting out as a drug dealer at the age of twelve, he brought drug money to school and was arrested three times. At the age of 16 he spent time in prison under electric shock rehabilitation and from there took to music.

He managed to graduate high school, and was to spend the rest of his life hustling until he met the celebrated producer Jam Master Jay, who took him under his wings. With him he recorded a few songs and began building a reputation as one of New York’s emerging gangster rap talents.

In 1999, after a few years as a Jam Master Jay apprentice, he managed to land himself a contract with Columbia Records and rebranded as 50 Cent. He had to use all the initial money he got from Columbia to buy out his contract with JMJ, but the future boded well and he looked forward to this new milestone in his musical journey.

He realised Columbia was big, and this was the opportunity he had always prayed for. Now was the time. He had to seize the opportunity; he could not afford to let it pass by. He set out to work feverishly on his craft, forgoing luxuries he previously thought he couldn’t live without and devoting insane number of hours in the studio honing his craft.

But tragedy struck just the next year in 2000, when a hired assassin fired several rounds of ammunition into 50’s body as he reclined in his car with his girlfriend. He was subsequently dropped by Columbia, as he was deemed bad for business.

This was definitely a major setback as it meant he had to begin the drudgery of searching for a producer from scratch. But he found solace in the realization that his involvement with Columbia, a major label, had enlightened him to the nitty gritties and the nuts and bolts as well as the much subtler nuances of the music business. He had now been to university in the music business and could navigate his way.

While recovering at his grandparents’, he listened extensively to New York’s budding gangster rappers on the radio and meticulously surveyed the rapidly evolving New Yok gangster rap scene. He carefully gauged the rapid evolution of the genre in the city and imbibed and gulped different and varied styles.

The time he spent at his grandparents’ also gave him the time to pick up the pieces and reorganize his priorities and reset his life. He resolved to cut out the toxic relationships and be more wise. He resolved to straighten out his life. He would take life more seriously and philosophically going forward.

Henceforth, he would keep mostly to himself. Henceforth, no more women. Henceforth, no more alcohol. Henceforth, more self-respect. Henceforth, more dignified behaviour and appearance. Henceforth, more maturity. Henceforth, a gentleman.

He realised gangster rap gave him his commanding place in the world and was the one and only thing that could save him. It was his calling. It was the one and only line of business he had to pursue and devote his life and energies to. It was the only career at which he could excel. Gangster rap was the only thing that could bring him out of the doldrums. This is it. This is the real deal.

There was nothing he enjoyed doing more. And his past life as a drug dealer made him certified for the job; it made him legit. His life growing up in the streets of Queens cast him perfectly for the role. He was and had to be the quintessential gangster rapper. With his past, there was no other career he was more licensed for.

Then he made a full recovery.

He lounged at the industry with a vengeance. He leveraged the education he had received at Columbia and his now unquenchable inner thirst to come at the industry in a reprisal that would culminate in one of the greatest successes in rap music.

50 Cent launched a mix tape campaign through which he released song after song in an incontinent rush. He marketed his music smartly like a professional; and won respect within the industry. Within a few years Emimen had got wind of him, and he promptly signed him on to his Interscope Label in 2003.

And the rest is history. 50 Cent has sold 30 million albums worldwide and has piled up several awards, including one Grammy in 2010 for the collaboration Crack a Bottle featuring his patron Eminem and Dr Dre, a track off Eminem’s 2009 Relapse album.

He has also clinched thirteen Billboard Music Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and four BET Awards plus so many sold-out concerts worldwide.

50 Cent has overachieved as a gangster rapper. His G-Unit crew as well as his diversified and eclectic business interests which range from clothing to vodka means he really wants himself and the whole world to Get Rich Quick or Die Tryin’.

Eric Boakye Antwi is a social cum tech entrepreneur and journalist. He has written for Goal.com, World in
Sport, and Bleacher Report. Reach him on Facebook @Eric Boakye Antwi and Instagram @ Eric Boakye
Antwi. Then on Twitter at Eric Boakye Antw2.