50 Cent

When he was growing up, nobody thought Curtis James Jackson III would amount to much of anything. If he lived to adulthood—and the odds of that weren t good—he d probably be a drug dealer like his mother was.

Jackson did sell drugs and served time in prison, but he worked his way out of that lifestyle and proved his skeptics wrong. Now known as 50 Cent, he has become one of the world s best-selling rap artists. His success has been tinged with controversy: He s been shot, stabbed, suspected of murder, and censored by critics who say his music is too violent. Through it all, he s persevered to build an empire that includes a record label, a clothing line, movies, video games, and more. The boy from Jamaica, Queens, New York, now performs for hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. Still, he s determined never to forget where he came from.