PR.com (Allison Kugel): What are the events in your life that have defined you?

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): My son, my mom passing, the lifestyle I took on following that, and then the decision to write music for a living.

PR.com: Why did you make the lifestyle decisions you made after your mother passed away?

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): The temptations… not just temptations, but wanting that life. My mom had me when she was fifteen. And teenage pregnancy wasn’t as common as it is now, and now they have programs for children that are having children. So [for her] working wasn’t an option. It was welfare or to hustle. Whenever I made reference to my mom or would think of my mom I would just think of everything that was positive and good in my life. So that was my motivation. Every time I would see her it was on Christmas, and she would come with something for me. When she went away there was nothing coming. I went to live with my grandparents. They had nine children and she was the [only] one of my grandparent’s nine children that passed away, so it was kind of easy for me to get lost in the shuffle. It was also an easy way for me to find my way into that lifestyle because people that I would see that had nice things were all from my mom’s life. Back then my name wasn’t even Curtis. It was “Sabrina’s baby (referring to his late mother).” So they knew me through my mom. And they’d be wondering, “Why do you look like that?” or “Why do your shoes look like that?” not realizing that there was no one really there to provide for me at that point. My grandparents are really traditional and old fashioned. My grandfather’s job was the largest asset in our family. He went to work and [my grandmother] stayed home to take care of the kids. And on his salary…

PR.com: It wasn’t easy.

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): Yeah.

PR.com: I have one son. I know (laughs). And, by the way my son’s name is Marcus.

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): My son’s name is Marquise!

PR.com: Yes, I know. And my mother actually went to your high school, Andrew Jackson. But she’s a sixty year old Jewish woman.

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): Laughs.

PR.com: Tell me about your book, The 50th Law?

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson): I actually had an opportunity to read Robert Greene’s work, The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War and The Art of Seduction. After I read those projects I was interested in seeing who he was. Because I established G-Unit Books with Simon and Schuster and MTV Pocketbooks, I was able to track Robert down. I just wanted to meet him. If you saw us physically you would see a complete odd couple, but when we actually talked we shared so many similar views from a business perspective on how you should conduct yourself and do things, and we decided to make the book. We actually worked on that project since 2006.

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