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By Amir Shaw Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Amir Shaw has contributed editorial to Ozone Magazine, Hip-Hop
Times and Street Masters. He is currently an entertaniment writer and sports writer for Rolling Out. He was also named to the 2010 Power 30 Under 30 list by Apex Society.
 Cocky and controversial, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is always one of hip hop's most entertaining personalities. More than that, 'Fiddy,' over the course of his career, has shown a business savvy and a knack for self-promotion that many other entertainers could stand to learn from. Jackson got off to a rocky start in 2010, however, as his latest album, Before I Self Destruct, became the lowest selling album of his career. But ever the renaissance man, 50 also wrote and directed the accompanying film, (also titled Before I Self-Destruct) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on DVD with the album.
The rapper joined the popular social networking site Twitter in the summer of 2010, and immediately became one of the most followed celebs on the site, with his tweets being scrutinized and picked apart by everyone from former rival The Game to PETA. Also in 2010, 50 oversaw his G-Unit imprint's move to EMI.
50 Cent has been able to maintain his high visibility in hip-hop and media through various film and entertainment endeavors. The rapper debuted his signature fragrance, "Power," in late 2009; and netted a voice role in the wildly popular video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." In 2010, it was announced that the Queens-born star would be appearing in films with such Hollywood notables as Bruce Willis and Meg Ryan. The newly-committed thespian made national headlines in May when a strikingly thinner picture of him surfaced online. He later revealed that he lost 54 pounds for a starring role in the Mario Van Peebles-directed Things Fall Apart.
50 Cent was also featured on several top notch collaborations. He penned verses on songs for artists ranging from soul singer El Debarge to pop rapper Soulja Boy to the eclectic singer/songwriter/rapper Cee-Lo Green. But his biggest collaboration will most likely be his upcoming appearance with Michael Jackson on the song "Monster" which will be on Jackson's posthumous album, tentatively-titled Michael.
50 Cent has also become a mentor of sorts to young rap star Soulja Boy, sharing motivation and support with the 20-year old via Twitter and in several interviews. provided fodder for the gossip sites by getting cozy with comedienne Chelsea Handler. 2011, 50 Cent's filmmaking career has moved into production, with the rapper/actor set to produce and appear alongside Bruce Willis in the action flick The Set Up. He will also release a highly-anticipated new album entitled, Black Magic.
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