How did 50 Cent make it out of the hood? Let’s get right into it!
Accept the Truth No big mystery here. 50 has been
working very hard, for a very long time. He hasn’t had an easy ride, but he's shown his toughness all
through his life. 50 Cent was born Curtis Jackson and he grew up in a rough neighborhood in Queens,
New York. He was an orphan at 8 after his mom went in a mysterious fire. He started selling
drugs on street corners by the time he was 12. 50 says that a turning point in the way he thought
about things was from an older street dealer who went by the name of Truth. Truth taught him to
not complain about his difficult circumstances in life. He taught 50 that his hard life on the
streets could be seen as a blessing if he could actually learn from his experiences. He also
taught him that he needed to always be aware of what’s actually happening around him and be aware
of what’s real and what’s not in life. Get a Mentor
50 was arrested at the age of 16, and he ended up getting sent to a boot-camp for nine months.
That was when he realized that the life he was living would never satisfy his ambition to make
a name for himself. He decided that he was going to find a mentor and enter the music industry.
So 50 began rapping in a friend's basement, where he used turntables to record over
various instrumentals. In 1996 a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC,
who was establishing Jam Master Jay Records. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses,
structure songs and make records. His music career soon started taking off after he met
Dr. Dre and Eminem. Make a Name
50's popularity first began to grow after the release of his successful and controversial
underground single "How to Rob". This was a track that describes how he would rob famous rappers,
but it obviously was meant as a joke. Why was this smart? Because he put himself on the map with that
track. He said that he was just trying to create a name for himself. Famous rappers responded to that
track, such as Jay-Z and Ghostface from Wu-Tang. Push Through
Before his career could really take off, 50 was famously shot 9 times. This event put a stop on
his music career and put his back against the wall again. But again, 50 was tough. He didn’t give up.
Neither growing up in the hood nor bullets could stop 50 Cent from his success. He took his time
recovering from his shooting to completely focus on the steps he’d take to get what he wanted out
of life. After 50 was shot, no record company would work with him. But, instead of giving up,
he flooded the streets with demos and made a name for himself from hustling on his own.
Avoid the Snakes There’s really not too much to say here,
as many people know this part of the story. Eminem discovered 50’s mixtape, and he introduced him to
Dr. Dre. His unrelenting will and prolific amount of work was what caught Eminem's attention and
eventually landed him a record deal. His 2003 debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"
made him an instant huge celebrity. 50 recalls that he used Truth's advice
to see past the people who were just trying to use him after he became massively famous and
made a lot of money. He was also able to avoid the manipulative deals from record executives.
50 recognized who the snakes were. Think It Through
He also realized that the music game was gonna change soon. People weren’t going to be buying
CDs the way they used to. So he knew that album sales weren't going to get him the type of wealth
he wanted. He knew that he had to use his celebrity to help push the marketing side
of some of his other ventures. 50 could have coasted after his newfound success and wealth.
But he branched out into many other business ventures and kept on pushing.
50 Cent is an insanely disciplined person, which is why he has had such an abundance of success
outside of music. He seems to know how to keep his mind in check despite the pitfalls and temptation
that often come with success. Be Independent
50 has always been good at going at it alone, and cutting off those people who were holding
him back. He understood that as long as you work for other people, you’re at their mercy.
He believes that what keeps you going is to be in a position of having to sink or swim on your own.
He thinks that in order to be successful we should have a greater fear of what would happen if we
remained dependent on other people for survival. For him, every move in life had to be towards
ownership and independence. When something is totally yours, it’s yours to lose – you’re more
motivated, more creative, and more alive. The ultimate power in life according to 50 Cent
is to be completely self-reliant. Average of Your Associates
50’s grandfather used to tell him that he’d only be as successful as the people he was hanging out
with, and therefore, he cut out everyone that wasn’t adding value to his life. He only hung
around people who helped him get somewhere, and as a result, he skyrocketed to success.
Even today, 50 follows that rule, which is why he’s seen taking pictures with other hip-hop
moguls, and seems to ignore other rappers that don’t have much going on for themselves.
50 recognizes that a person’s environment is stronger than anyone’s willpower. He truly
understood that we’re the average of who we surround yourself with.
Fearlessness If you’ve followed 50’s career,
then you know that he’s not afraid to take on anyone. However, it’s not actually the
beef he’s been involved in that he’s taken on that really makes him a fearless individual.
It’s his ability to be able to handle whatever challenge in any situation that’s put in his way.
50 has gone on various business ventures with some of the biggest corporations in the world
because he shows no fear in the boardroom, and he understands his leverage in convincing companies
to partner with him. From successful ventures such as his deal with vitamin water to ventures that
weren’t quite as successful such as his headphones called Sleek by 50. 50 wasn’t afraid of failure
in order to reach the success that he wants. 50 has also embraced the marketing possibilities
of Hip Hop beef. Hate it or love it, but diss tracks have always been an integral part of the
Hip Hop landscape, and this has always been something that 50 embraced beginning very
early on in his career. Understand the Gains
Ja Rule, Rick Ross, the Game and many other rappers have had public feuds with 50. The
most famous feud that 50 was a part of was definitely his feud with Ja Rule,
which was what helped propel 50 into superstardom and also what ultimately ended Ja Rule’s career.
Ja Rule really shouldn’t have taken on 50’s feud at the time as he was one of the biggest rappers,
and 50 was only coming up as a rapper and didn’t have anything to lose. Ja Rule was in a lose-lose
situation but instead he decided to take it on anyways and we all know how that turned out.
Diversify For a long time after his
initial musical success, 50 focused on other parts of his business career. Over the years,
50 has invested the millions of dollars in earnings he’s made from music and celebrity
endorsements in all sorts of assets, from real estate to stocks and bonds.
One of 50's very first business ventures was a partnership with Glacéau, the maker of Vitamin
water in 2004. They collaborated to create a flavor called Formula 50.
Instead of taking up front money, 50 was smart enough to take ownership in the company!
He went on to mention his flavor in various songs and interviews. In 2007, Coca-Cola
purchased Glacéau for $4.1 billion. 50 made $100 million dollars from the deal after taxes!
50 also has founded two film production companies: G-Unit Films in 2003 and Cheetah Vision in 2008.
Cheetah Vision produces low budget action thrillers for foreign film markets across
the world. 50 also produced Power, a STARZ drama where he not only co-starred, but also served
as co-creator and executive producer. Power debuted in June 2014 and continued until 2020.
The main point is that even though 50 was successful in music, that success was what
gave him the start to be able to look for other areas to be successful elsewhere.
Just like a stock portfolio, we always have to look for other opportunities and diversify
income streams, because nothing in life is ever guaranteed, something 50 completely understands.
Avoid Big Mistakes Even with all the things that 50 does right,
we all still make mistakes. In what basically amounts to a petty feud with fellow rapper
Rick Ross, 50 was ordered by a judge to pay $5 million dollars to a woman because he narrated and
released, let’s call it, a “private tape” she had. Lastonia Leviston was Rick Ross’s baby mama. So in
an effort to humiliate Rick Ross, he decided to release the tape with his own personal narration
of the events. However, maybe in an effort to duck the payment, 50 filed for bankruptcy only
days after a jury ordered him to pay Leviston $5 million dollars for invading her privacy.
Let’s not forget that it wasn’t just the 5 million that he had to pay; it was also the high legal
costs and the time that he had to put in in order to fight the lawsuit that he ultimately lost.
Going after Ja Rule; great move. This move? Not so smart. He was basically guaranteeing he was gonna
have to shell out a decent amount of cash. Know the rules
But 50 knew that bankruptcy and poverty aren’t the same thing. Bankruptcy is a tool used by
smart businessmen to get out of difficult financial commitments on the part of their
companies while maintaining their personal wealth. So 50 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy claiming a
debt of around $32 and a half million dollars. His assets were listed as between $10 and $50 million
in his bankruptcy petition, although he testified under oath that he was only worth $4.4 million. In
addition, 50 lost a dispute over a failed business deal in regards to his Sleek by 50 headphones.
An ex-partner accused 50 of later stealing the design for the "Sleek by 50" headphones,
prompting a judge to award the partner more than $17.2 million dollars.
Legal fees, debts and disgruntled partners all over the place. But his bankruptcy allowed him
to clean it all up. He was able to write off most of his debt while maintaining
a considerable amount of personal wealth. Basically 50 ended up with a clean slate,
with plenty of capital, connections, experience, discipline and fearlessness to move on to the
next big thing. If you’re gonna play the game, play the rules to your advantage,
whatever game it is. Here's what’s next!