50 Cent

Curtis James Jackson III (born: July 6, 1975 (1975-07-06) [age 49]), better known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, businessman, and entrepreneur.

Early life

Curtis James Jackson III was born in Queens, New York City, New York on July 6, 1975.^[1] He was raised in a Jamaican neighborhood of queens by his mother Sabrina, who was a drug dealer. When Jackson was eight, his mother passed away in a house fire.^[2] Following his mother's death, Jackson's grandparents took custody of him.

At age eleven, Jackson took up boxing to help rebuild his decaying life. At age fourteen, a neighbor opened a special boxing gym for young prospects. As a student in primary school, Jackson was cited for selling crack cocaine. Especially at age twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was in after-school programs.

He evenly started bringing in guns and drug money to school, even though it went unnoticed by the teachers and other staff. As a high school sophomore, metal detectors reacted when Jackson was carrying weapons and drugs. As a result, he was expelled from Andrew Jackson High School and did not graduate.

Legal troubles

On July 13, 2015, Jackson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut with a debt of $32,509,549.91.^[3] On July 17, 2015, the Court issued an order, allowing a creditor to proceed with the punitive damages phase of a trial against Jackson in a New York state court, in connection with the alleged release of a private video. His assets were listed as between $10 million and $50 million in his bankruptcy petition, though he testified under oath that his net worth was $4.4 million. Later in the same week, Jackson's bankruptcy lawyers elucidated the court documents that legal fees and judgments exceeding $20 million over the past year were the primary cause of the filing for bankruptcy.

His filings listed 32 entities that he had a stake in. The bankruptcy came days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million to rapper Rick Ross's ex-girlfriend Lastonia Leviston for invading her privacy by posting online a sex tape of her and another man. In addition, Jackson lost a dispute over a failed business deal to come to fruition to his Sleek headphones brand, where Jackson invested more than $2 million. An ex-partner accused Jackson of later stealing the design of the "Sleek by 50" headphones, prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million. His Connecticut bankruptcy filing stated that he owned seven cars valued at more than $500,000, including a 2010 Rolls Royce and a 1966 Chevrolet Coupe. His expenses of $108,000 a month include $5,000 for gardening along with a monthly income of $185,000, mainly from royalties and income from his external businesses and investments. The court filing also stated that he owed money to his stylist, his barber, and his fitness coach.

Other details in the bankruptcy documents included information about two deals that sold the right to collect royalties of on-air play of his music. Half of the rights to his portfolio were sold to the British independent music publishing company Kobalt Music Group for $3 million and the other half for another $3 million with the sales of his albums allowing Jackson to own the entire amount of rights to the master recordings while paying only for distribution. Zeisler & Zeisler, a Bridgeport law firm, represented Jackson in the bankruptcy, which later resulted in Jackson filing a $75 million lawsuit against his own lawyers. He stated that his lawyers were not doing a good job of representing him, specifically citing the fallout of his failed venture with Sleek Audio headphones and accused Garvey Schubert Barer, a Wall Street law firm, of failing to "employ the requisite knowledge and skill necessary to confront the circumstances of the case."

Politics

Jackson at first supported Republican candidate George W. Bush in 2005,^[4] But later decided that he will support Democratic candidate Barack Obama in 2008.^[5] He supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.^[6] He supported the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in 2020.^[7]

Controversies

Drug Dealing

On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for selling four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later, when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine and a starter's pistol. Although Jackson was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, he served six months in a boot camp (where he earned his high-school equivalency diploma). According to him, he did not use cocaine.^[8][9][10]

Illegal Firearms

Jackson and four members of his entourage were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. on December 31, 2002, when police found a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol in a parked car (which they searched due to its tinted windows) outside a Manhattan nightclub. The rapper was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.^[11]

Ableist Harrasment

While walking through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May 2016, Jackson harassed and insulted a janitor at the airport, accusing him of being under the influence.^[12] The janitor was a hearing-impaired, autistic teenager named Andrew Farrell. The parents of the janitor had seen the viral video as disrespect and wanted to sue Jackson for his action against their child. The lawsuit was originally over one million dollars, but the parents settled for a $100,000 donation to Autism Speaks and his apology.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Trivia

• His first song came out in 1999, named Power of the Dollar.^[18]

References