Many of hip-hop’s biggest names have led poverty-stricken lives before fame. Artists such as Lil Wayne, The Notorious B.I.G., and Eminem have all rapped about their previous dire situations and the drama that came along with them. However, some fans believe that artists like 50 Cent are prone to exaggeration.
There is a multitude of rappers whose pre-fame lives are in direct contradiction to the persona they put on for fans. A prime example is Miami artist Rick Ross, who got exposed as a former correctional officer in 2008. Another case is the disgraced Tekashi 6ix9ine, who embodied a gangster persona. Still, when things got serious, and he faced criminal charges, he claimed everything was false.
These examples raised questions about other artists known for their hardcore gangster personas, such as 50 Cent. The rapper’s go-to story concerns how he was shot nine times and survived. However, many began to question, “was he actually shot nine times?” In this article, we’re going to dig a little deeper to determine whether 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) was actually the victim of a nine-shot shooting.
50 Cent was born and raised in the South Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens, New York. With his father abandoning his mother long before Jackson’s birth, his mother decided to become a crack cocaine vendor to support the family. She would later die in a fire when Jackson was only eight years old. Following his mother’s death. Jackson’s primary carer became his Grandmother. However, within four years of the fire, the youngster had started selling drugs to stay afloat while living with his Grandmother.
During his teenage years, he started to consider a career in rap music, as many locals were. After releasing mixtapes locally, his talent was recognized in the late 1990s by Queens legend DJ Jam Master Jay of Run D.M.C., who took Jackson under his wing. After helping him gain contacts, by 1999, according to Jackson, he had become so prominent in New York he ended up signing a deal with Columbia Records.
The rapper has highlighted on many occasions that he was rushed and coerced into releasing a debut album. Upon completing Power of the Dollar, Jackson, along with his project, got shelved. According to Jackson and multiple other sources, the label saw him as a liability after an alarming incident. But it is, in fact, a very true story. 50 Cent was indeed shot nine times in 2000.
Jackson was shot by what he has previously described as a “low-level” drug dealer. Bullets entered his body via his hand, arm, hip, legs, chest, and face, resulting in a permanently partially visible hole in his face. He once highlighted it on the UK late-night talk show The Graham Norton Show, and even allowed Julie Walters to feel the hole.
However, in 2005 the year that Jackson released his album, The Massacre, court documents surfaced. The dossier revealed that the infamous Queens druglord, Kenneth McGriff tried to get Jackson murdered due to the rapper referencing him in a 2000 song called ‘Ghetto Qur’an.’
