American hip-hop icon 50 Cent will be performing live in Korea for the first time next month. The artist who is best known for his hit tracks “In Da Club,” “P.I.M.P.” and “Candy Shop” will hold two concerts, one in Seoul and one in Busan, on Jan. 12 and 13, respectively.

50 Cent ― whose real name is Curtis Jackson ― was born in Queens, New York, in 1975. By age 12, he had already begun a life of drug dealing. After high school, 50 Cent decided to stop dealing and pursue a career in music; however, this would prove to be an uphill battle for him. In 2000, the rapper was shot nine times, including in the face, at close range by an assailant. He miraculously made a full recovery five months later. While in the hospital, he signed a deal with Columbia Records.

However, he was dropped and blacklisted from the music industry after releasing the song “Ghetto Qu’ran (Forgive Me),” which some felt was too revealing of the Queens drug-trafficking world. The song was also believed to have led to the murder of Jam Master Jay of RUN DMC, who decided to work with the young rapper despite his blacklisting.

After he released his album “Guess Who’s Back?” in 2002, the hip-hop artist was later rediscovered by multi-platinum-record rapper Eminem, which put 50 Cent on the path to becoming one of the world’s most successful hip-hop artists.

In 2003, he rose to superstardom with the release of his album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” which went eight times platinum. That same year he also founded the record label G-Unit Records, which currently represents hip-hop artists including Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Shawty Lo.

50 Cent has earned more than 80 music awards including 11 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awards; 13 Billboard Music Awards; and six World Music Awards. The rapper is currently working on his fifth studio album titled “Street King Immortal,” which is expected to be released in January 2013.

The 50 Cent Live in Korea concerts will be held on Jan. 12 at Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium in Seoul starting at 8 p.m. and at BEXCO Convention Center in Busan on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 150,000 won.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)