50 Cents and his Rolls Royce Phantom
In the world of hip-hop, cars maketh the star, and there is no
star bigger than 50 Cent at the moment. But 'Fifty' ain't happy
with what's in his garage, and he has plans to turn the car
world on its head, literally. 50 Cent is about to make his
Rolls-Royce Phantom a drop-top, even before the company does the
work for itself...
"I just want something everybody else doesn't have," declares
the megastar backstage at a one-off UK concert at Rockingham
race track. He then unleashes a tidal wave of how and why he is
going to butcher his Phantom. "I don't care if it messes up the
electrical system. The roof is gonna be gone. I want something
more sporty. I'm not an old man. That's why I wanna chop the
roof off it. I'll leave the TVs. They had TVs in the package I
got. It's fully loaded. I'll leave everything that's in there.
I'll just cut the roof off. Make it into a 'vertible."
The man to whom 50 will turn for this ultimate chop-top is
Funkmaster Flex, New York car artiste to the rap stars. The
Bronx-based customiser, 50 Cent's motoring mentor and restorer
of the singer's '65 Chevy Impala and '84 Buick Regal has been
trying to talk the megastar out of what some will regard as
sacrilege.
"I don't think is such a good idea and it's going to end up
costing him almost as much as the car," predicts the host of the
'Ride With Funkmaster Flex' cult TV show. Rather than hack the
roof off the Phantom, Flex thinks it would be better to try and
buy a production example of the stunning 100EX convertible
concept car when it goes on sale in 2007. An idea 50 is having
none of.
"They won't give me one," he tuts with the air of a petulant
teenager. "Having me drive a Rolls-Royce is great for [promoting
the company], but they don't see eye to eye with the kid yet."
50 (I have been warned not to call him Mr. Cent!) is flexing
his considerable muscles. Less than three years since being
drop-kicked to the top of the hip-hop parade with a plug from
Eminem, 50 is enjoying the power of fame and spending a $100
million fortune which would run many a small country.
Fame and fortune has come at a price. In 2000, Curtis James
Jackson III was shot outside his grandma' New York house. Now
there are more bullet wounds in his body than fingers on one of
his blinged-up diamond-encrusted hands. One 9mm shell even went
through his front teeth. Every time he grins I try and spot it.
So far I have failed.
50 Cents Biography
Real Name: Curtis James Jackson
Date of birth: July 6, 1975
50 Cent (a.k.a. Fifty or Fiddy as pronounced in African American
Vernacular English, born Curtis Jackson on July 6, 1976 in
Queens, New York), is a popular African American hip-hop artist.
Once almost unknown outside his hometown of southside Jamaica,
Queens, he is currently signed to Eminem's record label Shady
Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. The rapper, who
was the first to sign to Shady Records, was scouted before
knowing Eminem. Eminem first encountered 50 Cent with MTV News
reporter Sway Calloway; Eminem apparently had not heard any of
50 Cent's performances before seeing him in person. He appeared
on the 8 Mile soundtrack with an accompanying song and video
("Wanksta") that immediately went into heavy rotation on BET,
MTV, and radio stations across the country. In the opinion of
many observers his continued success seems guaranteed by his
large underground fanbase and the street credibility he has
gained by appearing on almost every major mix tape sold in New
York in the past few years.
Early Life
Curtis Jackson never knew his crack cocaine-addicted father, and
his mother, a bisexual Queens drug dealer working under "Fat
Cat", was murdered when Jackson was only eight years old. Her
death had a major impact on Jackson, the degree of which is
speculated over by fans, and her sexuality also played a key
part in Jackson's emotional growth, which he would later
reference in the song "Hate It or Love It" off The Game's album
The Documentary), "Comin' up, I was confused, my momma kissin' a
girl/ Confusion occurs, comin' up in a cold world". The same
song also contains a mild indictment of his father's absence,
"Daddy ain't around, probably out committin' felonies".
After his mother's death, Jackson ended up living with his
grandparents, where as a teenager he became immersed in the
local drug trade. Hustling around his native Jamaica, Queens
neighborhood, Jackson went by the name of "Boo Boo". It was
during this period of distributing narcotics that Jackson met
fellow Queens native Tony Yayo, who would later become a member
of Jackson's G-Unit group. In June of 1994, Jackson was arrested
on felony drug charges. Being a second time offender, Jackson
was able to plead out of significant prison time by accepting
seven months in a "shock incarceration" boot camp. He would
later boast about this period as his doing "seven to nine."
He became a father to a son, Marquise in 1997. Jackson met up
with Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC fame and was signed to his label
JMJ. Jay taught him the basics and then 50 left the label in
search of someone who could help him achieve his dream of rap
stardom. He teamed up with the hip-hop production duo Track
Masters who recognized 50 Cent's talent for incisive lyrics and
signed him to Columbia Records in 1999. Although he looks back
on this time with displeasure (his biography refers to it as
being "locked up in the studio"), the 18 days spent in a studio
in Upstate New York produced 36 tracks which later became his
breakthrough album Power of the Dollar. "How to Rob", the
humorous ode to robbing a slew of industry rappers (Jay-Z, Puff
Daddy, Busta Rhymes (Flipmode Squad), various members of the
Wu-Tang Clan, even Track Masters, and many more) was an instant
hit for New York radio. Power Of The Dollar was never released,
due to his shooting in 2000 and Columbia Records executives
decided to drop him, claiming the shooting was negative
publicity.
Specifications of Rolls Royce Phantom
Model year: 2005
Make: Rolls Royce
Model: Phantom
Style: RWD
Base Price: 328750$
Drive Type: Rear
Transmission Type: 6-Speed Automatic
Engine Type: V12
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 453 @ 5350
Torque (ft-lbs @ rpm): 531 @ 3500
Performance:
0 - 30 (sec): 2.3
0 - 45 (sec): 4.1
0 - 60 (sec): 5.9
0 - 75 (sec): 8.8
1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 14.3 @ 98
Top Speed: 150 mph
More info:
http://www.topspeed.com/car_news/50_cents_and_his_rolls_royce_pha
ntom-ar2363.html