In Da Club, Wanksta, 21 Questions and P.I.M.P were huge crossover smashes and little Curtis Jackson from Southside Jamaica, Queens, could legitimately call himself the most discussed figure in hip-hop, as likely to grace the cover of The Source as the New York Times. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was at the time the biggest selling debut album in hip-hop history. Wanksta got a preview on the 8 Mile soundtrack, and then In Da Club exploded. Dre on what was by then the most highly-anticipated hip-hop LP of the year.

Eminem won the ensuing bidding war, signing 50 to Aftermath, and pulling 50 into the studio to work with him and Dr. He formed the G-Unit collective and churned out mixtapes that built his rep – not just for his baiting of arch-rival Ja Rule, but for the venom with which he addressed the failure of an increasingly out of touch hip-hop mainstream. With the facial injury altering his vocal style, Jackson returned to the NYC hip-hop underground. With one bullet in the cheek, one in the hand, and seven in the legs 50 was lucky to survive, and Columbia Records shamefully offloaded him immediately, terminating his contract and scrapping the album. The bravado backfired in May 2000 when an assassin tried to take 50 Cent’s life.

Get rich or die tryin album gross