“There are people who would actually like to be me. But if they had to go through the situations I was in before I became a rap star, I don't think they would still want to be me” (Cent). Curtis James Jackson III, was born in Jackson Queens, New York. Fortunately, having been born into an environment with gangs, drugs, and violence, causing Jackson to fight to survive mentally, physically, and financially, ended up being beneficial. Jackson, or 50 Cent, is a popular rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur. The fight to stay alive in the streets of Southside queens eventually is what he thanks and never forgets, for who he is today; if certain details of his past hadn't happened, Jackson would probably have still been in Jackson Queens, New York, or dead (Cent). Jackson was born into a family with just having a mother, and a few grandparents, which was normal for Southside Queens, if you were a kid growing up in his neighborhood, it was weird if you had both parents around (Cent). Jacksons teenage years were average for the enviornment as well, the survival of the fittest mind set was realistic, and grew stronger as he identified most people in his enviornment to be drug dealers or murderers- including his mother. After practically raising himself, and getting out of the “thug life”, Jackson overcame it all to the point where he seems to be currently living the American dream. For some, being born into an environment where if you don’t fight for your life you lose it, can distroy, cause people to become addicts, or stay at the poverty line. But instead, being born into the environment caused Jackson to want more than he could see around him; for example, he started selling drugs because he knew it was a step. If Jackson didn't master being in the environment of Southside Queens New York, he wouldn't of been able to get out.
Work Cited
Cent, 50. From Pieces to Weight Once upon a Time in Southside Queens. Paw Prints, 2008. Accessed Oct 24, 2014
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