The Nobody Years
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50 Cent before he was famous

Before Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent was dealing drugs at twelve.

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The nobody years

  1. Reconstruction of 50 Cent in 1983: Eight years old

    1983 Eight years old

    At eight he lost his mother, Sabrina, in a fire.

    Lost his mother Sabrina in a fire when he was eight years old. Source

  2. Reconstruction of 50 Cent in 1994: Sentenced, 1994

    1994 Sentenced, 1994

    At nineteen: three to nine years, six months in boot camp.

    Was sentenced to three to nine years, and served six months in a boot camp. Source

  3. Reconstruction of 50 Cent in 2000: Dropped and blacklisted

    2000 Dropped and blacklisted

    Columbia dropped him and the industry shut him out completely.

    Eighteen of those thirty-six songs became the album Power of the Dollar. Source

  4. Reconstruction of 50 Cent in 2001: Recording in Canada

    2001 Recording in Canada

    No American studio would book him, so he recorded in Canada.

    Unable to book a studio anywhere in the United States, he went to Canada to record. Source

  5. Reconstruction of 50 Cent in 2002: One handoff, 2002

    2002 One handoff, 2002

    His attorney passed the mixtape to Eminem's manager.

    Released the mixtape Guess Who's Back? in 2002. Source

  6. 1975

    Was born Curtis James Jackson III and raised in South Jamaica, Queens. Source

  7. 1970s

    His father left the family, and he never knew him. Source

  8. 1980s

    Was raised from then on by his grandparents. Source

  9. 1986

    Started boxing at around eleven years old. Source

  10. 1987

    Began selling drugs at twelve, while his grandparents believed he was at after-school programmes. Source

  11. 1989

    At fourteen a neighbour opened a boxing gym, and he split his days between sparring there and the corner. Source

  12. June 1994

    On 29 June 1994 he was arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. Source

  13. July 1994

    Three weeks later officers searched his home and arrested him again. Source

  14. 1994

    Earned his GED in that boot camp. Source

  15. 1996

    A friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC in 1996. Source

  16. 1996

    Jam Master Jay taught him to count bars, write choruses and structure a song. Source

  17. 1997

    His demos were turned down in 1997 for sounding too much like Jay-Z. Source

  18. 1998

    Made his first appearance on a record in 1998, on Onyx's React. Source

  19. 1999

    Left Jam Master Jay and was signed to Columbia Records by the Trackmasters. Source

  20. 1999

    Was sent to a studio in upstate New York and recorded thirty-six songs in two weeks. Source

  21. 1999

    Wrote How to Rob during a half-hour car ride to the studio. Source

  22. 1999

    The song named famous artists he would rob, and Jay-Z, Nas and Wu-Tang Clan all answered it. Source

  23. 1999

    Nas took him out on the Nastradamus tour. Source

  24. May 2000

    On 24 May 2000 he was shot nine times at close range outside his grandmother's former home. Source

  25. May 2000

    One round went through his left cheek, leaving him with a slurred voice. Source

  26. 2000

    Spent thirteen days in hospital and used a walker for six weeks afterwards. Source

  27. 2000

    Columbia dropped him, and the industry shut him out over the song Ghetto Qu'ran. Source

  28. 2000

    Power of the Dollar was never released. Source

  29. 2001

    With Sha Money XL he recorded more than thirty songs for mixtapes. Source

  30. 2002

    Released 50 Cent Is the Future, backed by the group G-Unit. Source

  31. 2002

    His attorney passed Guess Who's Back? to Eminem's manager. Source

Reconstructions of documented moments, generated with AI. Not archive photographs, and not depictions of real people. © The Nobody Years

Sources

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