50 Cent opens up on being shot 9 times, explains how it ‘shifted’ his career

Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson shared his harrowing story of being shot nine times in Queens, New York, and how it changed the trajectory of his career.

The acclaimed rapper, actor and businessman told “Fox & Friends,” Tuesday that his first major record, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” released in 2003, was heavily influenced by the 2000 incident that nearly took his life.

The hit song “Many Men (Wish Death on Me)” is a particular ode to his survival from the incident.

“It shifted my concept,” Jackson told hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade. “My first album concept was ‘Power of a Dollar,’ and then I went to ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’,’ the stakes just got higher.”

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Jackson recalled his recovery from the near-death experience and how he planned to release what would become his defining album.

“You look, and you go, well, what am I going to do?” he said. “The record company’s not answering the phone anymore. Everything’s changing. And then it’s like, you got to figure out how to do it on your own.”

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Jackson would eventually become a superstar in music and on screen, culminating with his new show “50 Ways to Catch a Killer with 50 Cent,” an episodic series streaming exclusively on Fox Nation. The show uncovers haunting, real-life crime stories with expert analysis from law enforcement officials and detectives, working to uncover the truth.

“I had a team of people help me curate it, and what I do is try to solve things before they solve it on television,” Jackson said during the interview. “Like in my head, who did what, and we make sure that these are unpredictable outcomes that they can really be entertained by.”

Jackson said that the twisting cases with surprise resolutions kept him hooked the most. 

“It’s just finding the ones where the facts are stranger than fiction, that have weird plot twists and things that you wouldn’t expect,” he added.

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Jackson also reflected on his upbringing and how he overcame the tragic death of his mother, who died in a fire when he was eight years old. He said, despite his hardships as a child and on the path to becoming a major force in the entertainment industry, he urged others to overcome their own adversity. 

“There are no excuses. There’s no situation that they’ll go through, or that they can’t go through, and still be successful,” he said.

When it comes to future projects, Jackson alluded to a potential second season of “50 Ways to Catch a Killer with 50 Cent,” and hinted at his role in the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie, based on the hit video game series. He promised to keep the same energy and personality that made him a star through each future endeavor.

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“I don’t want to be someone new,” Jackson said about pitching his projects. “I just want to be a better version of who I am. I’ve been saying that, and it’s been my message the entire time. And they know that it’s relatable scenarios and my story that they connect with, and makes them feel like, even if they haven’t gone through something similar, they’ve probably gone through less. But it gives them reason to move forward.” 

The final two episodes of “50 Ways to Catch a Killer with 50 Cent” are now available to stream on Fox Nation.

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