50 Cent wants to help Kings and Queens Rise in Sacramento after overcoming own adversity
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson sat back in a plush couch in a premium area inside the Golden 1 Center and took a moment to reflect.
Jackson, a rap star who sold 30 million albums worldwide, won a bevy of awards, and has burgeoning television and business careers, thought about the steps he has taken to help people. He also talked about what brought him to Sacramento, some 3,000 miles from where he grew up in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and became one of the most famous artists of his generation.
“I think idle time is the devil’s time,” Jackson said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “Especially in inner cities where you got so many different distractions, so many different influences, positive and negative.”
As Jackson spoke, hundreds of Sacramento-area kids were lining up to get their new basketball uniforms on the concourse at Golden 1 Center. Jackson and the Kings on Saturday launched the Kings and Queens Rise Co-Ed Youth Sports and Mentoring League, a program co-opted by Jackson’s G-Unity Foundation. It’s designed to give kids positive outlets, including basketball, during the summer months to keep them away from violence.
“They get a chance to be part of that team effort,” Jackson said. “I think it teaches them lessons that are priceless in the early stages.”
Jackson later spoke to the kids on the court and posed for pictures during a meet-and-greet session on the floor where the Kings recently hosted their first playoff series in almost 17 years. There were yells from the crowd, asking him to freestyle and perform their favorite songs, even if they weren’t born when “In Da Club” and “Candy Shop” were dominating radio airwaves.
Jackson obliged, breaking out the choruses of his hit songs while talking to kids in the crowd.
Jackson is in the second year of a partnership with the Kings in which his G-Unity Foundation works with the Kings Foundation to invest in programs to serve underprivileged youth in the area. Sire Spirits, Jackson’s beverage company, is also an official partner of the team as the Kings emphasize working with diverse companies and black-owned businesses.
Jackson has been a regular at Kings games and even helped players light the beam after wins. He said the city’s love for the team serves as a positive conduit for his charity work.
“It’s the biggest thing here,” Jackson said. “The connection to the Kings is the excitement around it. It might not necessarily be the biggest market, but I like that it touches the people who are really excited. I come out here during the games, the energy, not just inside the building but outside the building, was going on. You can feel the event and energy. This is the first time they’ve experienced it this way where they have a team they can really root for that is competing on the highest level.”
Kings head coach Mike Brown, who became the NBA’s first unanimous Coach of the Year this season, tapped Jackson to speak to the team in early December. Jackson was among the many prominent figures outside basketball Brown asked to give his players perspective on a variety of topics.
“His message was great for our guys,” Brown said. “Here’s an icon that started in the music game and was at the top of the music game and then he pivoted at the right time. And now, he’s doing as well, if not better, in the TV and movie world. So, just talking to our guys about pivoting when the time is right because basketball’s going to come to end for all those guys, and what’s next in your life, the sky’s the limit. Use your platform now to set yourself up and go get it.”
Jackson understands the current generation of youth might not be listening to the same songs that made him famous in the early 2000s. But he can connect with kids by relaying his struggles from before, during and after the high points of his musical career.
Jackson first started learning to make music with Jam Master Jay of Run DMC in the late 1990s. Just as his music career was beginning to take off in 2000, a gunman outside his house shot him nine times. Jackson said the shrapnel left in his mouth caused his signature and distinctive slur in his voice.
His hit album, “Get Rich or Die Trying,” soared to the top of the charts in 2003 on the strength of “In Da Club,” and he eventually signed an agreement with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment.
But Jackson filed for bankruptcy 12 years later, going from the top of the entertainment world to starting fresh. Now, he’s worked his way back with a starring role and executive producer title for the hit show “Power.” He also has a slew of other projects and entrepreneurial work, including the beverage company that led to his partnership with the Kings. He hopes his story can provide the right kind of example for kids all over the country, including Sacramento.
“The fastest way to achieve what you’d like to achieve is not necessarily the right way,” Jackson said. “So a lot of the temptation is to go in the wrong direction to achieve what you want when you’re younger. This is why these programs are effective.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
