50 Cent

Name at birth: Curtis Jackson

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin was a top-seller, propelled by the hit song "In Da Club" and by support from hip-hop superstars Eminem and Dr. Dre. 50 Cent's troubled past was part of the package: he was raised by his grandparents after his drug-dealing mother died, and in 2000 he survived being shot 9 times. Before his mainstream breakthrough he was popular in clubs and on the streets, thanks to locally distributed tapes. Although it didn't get national airplay, his Power of a Dollar (1999) was an underground hit, as was his earlier single "Thug Love." His second album, 2005's The Massacre, was almost overshadowed by 50 Cent's public feud with fellow rapper and protegé, The Game. Between the gunfire, feuds and hit singles, Rolling Stone magazine was moved to call 50 Cent "in many ways the ideal East Coast hardcore rapper." His autobiography, From Pieces to Weight, was published in 2005.