In many ways the ideal East Coast hardcore rapper, 50 Cent endured substantial obstacles throughout his young yet remarkably dramatic life before becoming in early 2003 the most-discussed figure in rap, if not pop music in general. Following an unsuccessful late-'90s run at mainstream success (foiled by an attempt on his life in 2000) and a successful run on the New York mixtape circuit (driven by his early-2000s bout with Ja Rule), Eminem signed 50 to a …showed first 75 words of 1437 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1437 total…Massacre was to officially hit the shelves on March 3, but street-date violations were reported on March 1. By the next day, everyone from the mom-and-pops to the major chains was selling the album at a furious pace. Unsurprisingly, it sold extremely well, rode the top of the album chart for a while, spawned numerous hits, and kept the 50 Cent train a-rollin' mighty fine amid all the requisite controversy and plentiful paper-stacking. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide