Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975),[3] known professionally as 50 Cent,[n 1] is an American rapper, actor, television producer, and businessman. Born in South Jamaica, a neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999-2000, he recorded his "debut" album for Columbia Records; however, he was struck by nine bullets during a shooting in May 2000, causing its release to be cancelled and he to be dropped from the label. He was later discovered by Eminem