50 Cent

Once one of hip-hop's biggest names, Curtis Jackson has bounced back from bankruptcy to create an expanded universe of glossy crime dramas.

So far, the biggest setback he’s had on TV was the cancellation of his ABC series For Life (about a falsely incarcerated man who becomes an attorney behind bars), and even that earned two seasons. In addition to the two new Power books, Starz also picked up BMF (Black Mafia Family) – Jackson’s Detroit-based crime drama – for a second season, and greenlit another series, Queen Nzinga, about a Dora Milaje-esque warrior, that he likened to the movie 300. Nor did the pilot’s lack of household names besides Jackson, who was ultimately cast as a supporting character who doesn’t immediately appear – and even then only occasionally. He published a book with The 48 Laws of Power author Robert Greene called The 50th Law. He made a fortune after being an early investor in Vitaminwater but in 2015 declared bankruptcy. He dabbled in film-making, mostly producing work that either featured him in the cast or was explicitly about him. If such a thing as a Lazarus-like figure exists in hip-hop, it’s Curtis James Jackson III – better known as 50 Cent. The 46-year-old Queens, New York native appeared poised to pull off a familiar progression from drug dealer to gangsta rapper after signing with Columbia Records in 2000.