Jackson was born and raised in South Jamaica, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. His mother Sabrina, a drug dealer, died in a fire when he was 8. Since his father had already abandoned the family, young Curtis was sent to live with his grandparents. Growing up during the crack epidemic of the 80s and 90s, Jackson dealt drugs when he wasn't "killing time" at school or boxing at a local gym. His grandparents assumed he was at after-school programs when he was out selling crack. In tenth grade, Jackson was caught with guns and drug money passing through the metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School in Queens. In 1994, Jackson was arrested again for selling vials of cocaine to an undercover officer, and three weeks later he was arrested yet-again after police found heroin, crack cocaine, and a starter pistol in his home. Jackson was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison, but opted to join a 6 month boot camp program and get his GED. Around this time, Jackson began going by "50 Cent," inspired by deceased Brooklyn stick-up man Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin.
After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he released his debut album Guess Who's Back Again in 2002. He was discovered by Eminem and Dr. Dre and then signed to Interscope Records. He has since released Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003), The Massacre (2006), Curtis (2007) and Before I Self Destruct (2009).
50 Cent has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Jay-Z, Ja Rule, The Game, Cam'ron, Fat Joe, and Rick Ross. He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008. 50 Cent is one of the richest hip-hop performers, having a net worth estimated at US $440 million in 2008.
Before 50 Cent ever inked a major deal, he built up a substantial fan base in New York through underground mixtapes. 50 Cent met up with Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC and was signed to his label to write all of Jay’s music. After he’d left JMJ, he signed to Columbia Records in 1996. On this label, he released Power of the Dollar, and the singles How to Rob and Ghetto Qua Ran. Columbia Records released him from the label after being shot on May 24th, 2000.
Around this time, Eminem had heard one of 50 Cent’s demo tapes and expressed a huge interest in him on MTV, as did Dr. Dre. Shortly after this, 50 Cent officially signed to Interscope Records. He was the first rapper to sign to the joint label owned by Dr. Dre and Eminem. The first song he released on this record was entitled Wanksta and was featured on the 8 Mile soundtrack.
In its first week of release, his debut ”Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” sold 872,000 units - easily reaching Gold status. Within the second week it went Platinum (1 mil) and on April 12th, 2004 the RIAA certified it six times Platinum.
In 2005 he followed the success of his album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ with a new release - The Massacre (originally called St. Valentines Day Massacre until the release date was pushed back). The first single released off this, Disco Inferno, was a huge hit - he followed this hit up by the release of Candy Shop and then again with Just a Lil Bit.
In 2003 Interscope Records allowed 50 Cent to have his own label - G-Unit Records. He first signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit Records. In 2004, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent had signed The Game under a joint venture.
Surrounded by Hoes
50 Cent Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everywhere I'm at everywhere I go, I stay surrounded by hoes
Even when I'm tryin to be on the low, I'm recognized by hoes
Man, its gotta be cause of the dough, its got to be cause of the dough
Cause the game sure wasn't like this before, it wasn't like this before
(Verse One)
50 Cent I'm makin hits now
Some bitches changed, cause they know I'm fittin to blow
You should see how they react when I come through the door
In the club my niggaz, we fittin to ball out
Drink till we fall out
Some shit jump off, nigga we goin all out
Shots big enough to tear the fuckin wall out
I'll have your punk ass on the dance floor tryin to crawl out
I had bad luck, then my luck changed up
You see the Range, you see the rims all blinged up
You ain't hear what I charge for 16, I'm makin a killin
These other rap niggaz just catching feelings
(Chorus)
Haha, yeah
Yeah that's it nigga, what the fuck you thought
I ain't giving niggaz more than 16 for a motherfuckin freestyle
The fuck you want for free man
Ya'll niggaz be wanting a lot for free man
Fuck them other niggaz, other niggaz can't rap
That's why they give you 100 motherfuckin bars for nothing man
You know what I mean
Fuck that shit man, I ain't gonna sit there rappin to you all night
Haha, the fuck man
Hey yo, Sha Money XL, nigga teamwork
We work hard nigga
50 Cent
In "Surrounded by Hoes" by 50 Cent, the rapper talks about his lifestyle being constantly surrounded by women. The chorus repeats the theme, stating that wherever he is, he's always "surrounded by hoes," and these women seem to recognize him and seek him out because of the money he makes. As he raps about his experiences in the club, he notes that he and his friends drink until they "fall out" and are always ready to fight if necessary. He also boasts about the money he makes from his music, contrasting himself with other rappers who are just "catching feelings" instead of making real profit like he is.
Line by Line Meaning
Everywhere I'm at everywhere I go, I stay surrounded by hoes
No matter where I go, women are always trying to get my attention.
Even when I'm tryin to be on the low, I'm recognized by hoes
Even when I try to stay low-key, women still recognize me.
Man, its gotta be cause of the dough, its got to be cause of the dough
It's only because of my money that women pay attention to me.
Cause the game sure wasn't like this before, it wasn't like this before
Before I became famous and rich, women did not show any interest in me.
50 Cent I'm makin hits now
I am now a successful musician.
Don't try an act like you ain't heard I'm the shit now
Everyone knows that I am extremely successful.
Some bitches changed, cause they know I'm fittin to blow
Some women have started treating me differently now that I am more successful.
You should see how they react when I come through the door
Women go crazy when they see me.
In the club my niggaz, we fittin to ball out
My friends and I are planning to have a great time in the club.
Drink till we fall out
We plan on drinking way too much alcohol.
Some shit jump off, nigga we goin all out
If something happens, we will take extreme measures to ensure we are safe.
Shots big enough to tear the fuckin wall out
We will be drinking excessively strong shots of alcohol.
I'll have your punk ass on the dance floor tryin to crawl out
If you try to keep up with me, you will be too drunk to stand on your feet.
I had bad luck, then my luck changed up
I used to be unsuccessful, but then things turned around for me.
You see the Range, you see the rims all blinged up
I have a luxurious car with expensive rims.
You ain't hear what I charge for 16, I'm makin a killin
I am making a lot of money from my music career.
These other rap niggaz just catching feelings
Other rappers are jealous of my success.
Haha, yeah
Just a moment of amusement.
Yeah that's it nigga, what the fuck you thought
That's all there is to it - no tricks or surprises.
I ain't giving niggaz more than 16 for a motherfuckin freestyle
I won't be giving away my music for free.
The fuck you want for free man
People always want something for free.
Ya'll niggaz be wanting a lot for free man
People are always looking for free stuff.
Fuck them other niggaz, other niggaz can't rap
Other rappers are not as skilled as I am.
That's why they give you 100 motherfuckin bars for nothing man
Other rappers give away their music for free because they cannot make money from it.
You know what I mean
Do you understand what I am saying?
Fuck that shit man, I ain't gonna sit there rappin to you all night
I am not going to perform for free all night.
Haha, the fuck man
Just a moment of amusement.
Hey yo, Sha Money XL, nigga teamwork
A shoutout to my producer Sha Money XL.
We work hard nigga
We put in a lot of effort.
50 Cent
My name.
Contributed by Ian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Lawrence187
Still banging in 2023
@SE-vt7fs
50 cent made so much good music that wasn’t in albums, it gets me mad sometimes when people say GROTD and Massacre are his only good work
@UnKnown-nq5hj
That's how you can tell who is who..
@gersonpaulo8900
Same with Power of Dollar!
@fracturedsolace145
His best music was on the mixtapes Guess Who's Back, Power of the Dollar, G-unit radio,How to Rob.
@tatertots0046
GRODT movie soundtrack is another 1 that gets slept on crazy
@joelburt
@Fractured Solace power of the dollar is actually his original debut album
@wesleythweju8368
Listin this on volume 100, on a sunny day when you came from da barbershop!🤣🤣
@jerzjones4700
😭😭
@franknitti107
Facts 😂