Curtis James Jackson III

I AM WHAT I AM

My hero is a man who got shot nine times and still lived. A man who lost his mother when he was only eight years old and didn’t even know his father at all. A man who people tried to ban. This man’s name is Curtis James Jackson III also known as 50 Cent. The reason I chose 50 cent as a hero is not because he has done a lot of things in his life that were bad but because he has changed his life around. One of 50’s heroic qualities is bravery because he is not scared of competition. He is also strong since he got shot nine times and is still living still making good music. Another heroic quality is that he is a money maker.

Bravery is something when someone has a lot of heart, courage, and responsibility. One way that 50 cent was brave is when he found out his mother died. He was strong because his mom died when he was only eight years old. 50’s mother was a cocaine dealer and she died because somebody drugged her drink and then left her for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on with the windows shut close. Afterwards 50 cent went to live with his grandparents and eight aunts and uncles.

At the age of eleven 50 began boxing in a local gym. If he wasn’t in school he was in the gym or making money on the block by selling drugs. At the age of twelve he began selling narcotics. While in the tenth grade he took drug money and a gun to school and got caught but that didn’t stop him.On June 29, 1994 he was arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover cop and was then sentenced to prison.

50 cent then decided to go on to a new life. He started to do his thing as a rapper. In 1996 he was introduced to Jam Master Jay of Run D.M.C. He taught Curtis how to write songs and choruses, and he also produced 50’s first album “Power of the Dollar” which wasn’t released. Then his popularity started to grow after the song he wrote called How to Rob. He was supposed to do a video with the famous Destiny Child but he was in the hospital due to injuries.

Just as things were going better for 50 cent and his rap career, on May 24, 2000 Curtis Jackson was attacked by a gunman in front of his grandmother’s house. He was in a car about to go to the studio when another car pulled up. A man walked up to 50’s left side with a 9mm and fired nine shots at close range. Bullets hit 50's hand, arms, hip, both legs, chest, and his left cheek. The face wound gave him a slur in his voice. He spent 13 days in the hospital. The shooter was killed three weeks after the incident.

Once again 50 summoned the strength to survive and rebuild his music career. 50 cent met up with rapper Eminem and producer Dr. Dre. He was signed to Interscope records for a one million dollar deal. In February 50 cent released his album “Get Rich or Die Tryin”. This album sold 872,000 copies in the first four days. Later on he made his own record label called G-Unit Records. 50 cent turned his whole life around but was still in his hood in Southside Jamaica Queens. Even though he has been through a lot he has managed to turn his life around. He went from drugs to becoming a big time rapper.