Curtis (50 cent) Jackson

Everybody has a different opinion on what a hero is. Some think you only can become a hero by doing good deeds. Others believe you can become a hero just by doing what you feel is the right thing to do and not necessarily what everybody else thinks is right to do. A hero to me, someone that I can look up to, would be Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. 50 Cent is a good example of the saying "just because you grew up in a bad environment and got sucked into the wrong things, doesn't mean you can't turn it into a positive thing."

Some may not feel the same way as I do about him being a hero because of the things 50 has done in his past but you can't always think that someone can't change. You should always give a person a second chance. Not only has 50 Cent matured over the years but he has become a successful businessman and has donated over hundreds of thousands of dollars to help renovate bad communities like the one he grew up in. Also, 50 Cent performs for countries that can't afford to book artists to perform. Within the next two years, he wants to build a recreational center in Southside Jamaica Queens, New York, for young children.

50

Since a child he has tried to support himself when his grandparents struggled due to having to raise eight other kids. Even though what he did was wrong, he did what he thought was required to in order to survive in the environment he grew up in. A reason why I find him to be a hero is because he provided for himself. Later on in 1996, he began rapping under Jam Master Jay Records and later signed to Columbia Records. While under Columbia Records, he made a "diss" track entitled "How To Rob" in which he targets such rappers as: Big Punisher, Jay-Z, DMX, and Sticky Fingaz. On May 24, 2000, he was shot nine times in front of his grandmother's house in Southside Jamaica Queens, New York. After surviving the shooting, he took his rap career more seriously. 50 formed a group with Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Domination, and Bang 'Em Smurf, The name of the group was G-Unit. After forming the group, Domination and Bang 'Em Smurf left because 50 refused to pay Bang 'Em Smurf's bail when he was incarcerated due to a gun charge. In 2002, 50 Cent signed to Shady Aftermath and released a mix tape entitled "No Mercy No Fear" with G-Unit. Later on in February, he released his debut album "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" which became known as "the most hyped album by a rap artist in about 10 years." Since then, 50 has dipped into many other businessman ventures including a clothing line, a drink, a book publishing line, and his own record label entitled "G-Unit Records." Also, he has started in the film "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" a biography loosely based on his life. 50 has also has a video game called "50 Cent: Bulletproof" and a sequel called "50 Cent: Blood In The Sand."

From being a drug dealer to a rapper and successful businessman, Curtis is a good example of someone who turned their life around for the better. Since he has been on Shady Records, 50 manage to sell over 20 million records and become the second richest rapper in hip-hop in 2007. That's why I find him to be my hero.