Why is Curtis Jackson smiling?

Surely, the charismatic hip hop giant known as 50 Cent has heard all the questions. Just how does the superstar artist whose first two albums alone (2003’s classic Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and it’s much-anticipated follow-up 2005’s The Massacre) sold close to a combined 25 million copies, prosper in the music-downloading era of dwindling rap album sales? Can the defiant former drug dealer from killer Southside Queens, New York, painting an often times brutal and violent image of street life continue his amazing streak of three consecutive no. 1 hits on the R&B/Hip Hop, and Pop charts (“In Da Club,” “21 Questions,” and “Candy Shop,”), three top three singles (“P.I.M.P.,” “Just A Lil’ Bit,” and “Disco Inferno”), and 11 Grammy nominations? How does anyone who has overseen one of rap’s most successful boutique labels in recent years, G-Unit Records, as well as the burgeoning G-Unit clothing and Reebok sneaker line; a book publishing empire; and a chart-topping video game, Bulletproof, which all together has grossed over half a billion dollars, continue his swaggering dominance?

Easy. You go back to what first made you a worldwide icon 5 years ago—before the Hollywood film roles and spoils of celebrity. Just be 50 Cent.

“People think I should be uncomfortable,” says a confident 50 of his doubters. “But I’ve accomplished so much from where I come from, that it’s impossible for you to take my smile away from me. Pressure is hustling in the ‘hood not knowing if the cops are going to knock you or that dude on the corner is ready to pull out his gun while you struggling to feed your family. I think it’s natural that they want to see successful people down. But if G-Unit is falling, what’s replacing it?”

Indeed, in these lean times, there is plenty of pressure for 50 Cent to deliver another blockbuster release. But with his third album Curtis, the superstar more than meets the challenge. And while the motivated MC is once again anchored by West Coast production deity Dr. Dre and best-selling rhyme icon Eminem, the 17-track Curtis finds 50, for the first time, collaborating with producers and artists outside the G Unit/Shady Records/ Aftermath camp. “In the past, it had to be producers that was affiliated with my team or unknown producers that I felt comfortable working with,” 50 explains. “But this time, I found a comfort zone that made me willing to work with everyone else and still made an album on my own terms.”

“My reason for naming this album Curtis is I wanted this record to be human,” 50 adds. “So that means displaying joy, laughter, pain, anger, aggression, and fear. I think this album is going to change how people think of me.”

50 Cent’s uncanny hit-making abilities is still front and center on the first-single “Amusement Park” (produced by Chris Styles), a playfully sexy, pick-up line of a track that has already garnered extensive radio and club airplay. From there, 50 raises the stakes. On the relentless Dr. Dre produced “Come And Go,” the brazen lyricist displays the menacing fire of a man “fresh out on bail,” and ready to reclaim the streets, over relentless drums and stabbing violins. The futuristic, keyboard-bounce brilliance of “Ayo Technology,” finds the forward-thinking artist hooking up with groundbreaking producer Timbaland and multi-platinum talent Justin Timberlake.

On the volatile, bad man threat “Man Down” (produced by Atlanta’s Don Cannon), a hungry 50 shows he’s again ready to take on all comers, whether in the ‘hood or on the album charts. “Follow My Lead” (J-Hen), a groove-heavy cut backed by a driving bassline and soulful piano chords, spotlights the man that once asked his chick 21 questions, offering a brutally honest view of the pitfalls of relationships. Rounding out the star-studded guest list are Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Akon, the Pussy Cat Doll’s Nicole and G-Unit brethren Young Buck and Tony Yayo.

“Timbaland, Mary, Justin…these folks are monster artists,” 50 says glowingly of his high profile collaborators that are bound to take some fans off guard. “But besides, Eminem and Dre, there’s no one on Curtis that has sold the amount of albums I’ve sold. I think it’s impossible for me to be overshadowed, based on the perception of me that’ s been created by the media. I’m darker than the guy that’s actually in the penitentiary. My reputation exceeds me.”

But perhaps no other track captures 50 Cent’s continuing growth as a vivid lyricist more than the album’s conceptual title track "Curtis." Over the darkly produced Havoc track (one half of the legendary hip hop duo and G-Unit act Mobb Deep), a young and confused 50 takes listeners back to the ‘80s crack era of Pumas and Kangols. This is an unforgiving, violent world where a child can easily lose his/her innocence amid hustlers, drug dealers, and killers. There are no easy answers or fairytale endings. And 50 wouldn’t have it any other way.

"Curtis" takes what I did on songs like “Many Men,” and “Hate It Or Love It” and pushes it to the limits,” 50 Cent says of the introspective statement track that offers a more venerable view of the MC. “Rappers make themselves superheroes, so they have no defect. But that fear and confusion represents Curtis Jackson growing up. I remember during a conversation with my grandmother I said, ‘I’m thinking about making this record a little differently…more positive.’ And she said that would be good, but nobody would buy it because people connected with me because of my struggle. That’s what people want from 50 Cent…to give them that real shit.”

50 Cent’s dedication to the music cannot be dismissed. During studio time for many of the tracks that would be utilized on Curtis, the rap giant recorded an impressive 60 songs in a three month span, working with such headline producers as Kanye West, Will I Am, Pharrell, and Polow Da Don. Many of these songs will be featured on 50’s future release, Before I Self Destruct, an album that was originally scheduled to drop ahead of Curtis. But he quickly discovered that a more personal approach was needed.

“I went into artist mode with this album,” 50 Cent says of the recording process of Curtis. “I shut all my outside business concerns down. I wanted to re-introduce myself to people. I just wanted to say, ‘My name is Curtis Jackson III.’ You see my grandfather is Curtis senior, his first-born is Curtis Jr. and I’m his first grandchild. You can’t get more direct than that.”

Perhaps the hip-hop world will look back at Curtis as a career-defining statement in the career of 50 Cent. They will no doubt hear the hungry, take-no-prisoners kid who settled for nothing less than landmark acclaim for his debut Get Rich. They will find the volatile, dangerous edge that made 50 one of hip-hop’s most controversial figures; a man who gladly ended the careers of his foes and ruled the hip hop and pop landscape with an across-the-board dominance. They will witness the same ambitious artist who was so driven to prove his critics wrong with his follow-up The Massacre, that he admittedly overwrote the record, placing the maximum 22 tracks on one disc.

There are plans for a seven-month blockbuster world tour in support of Curtis, more movie roles and more hits from his G-Unit label and crew. But as usual, 50 Cent has his own take on how he should be viewed by the public-at-large: as a survivor.

“The confusion of why I survived being shot at close range made me have to believe that God put me here for a reason,” testifies 50. “I feel like I can do anything. I’ve made millions and I’m in a secure place right now. I make music not because I have to, but because I love it. That’s what I want people to get out of Curtis.