Kelvin Martin

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For the American football player, see Kelvin Martin (American football).
Mugshot of Kelvin Darnell Martin.

Kelvin Darnell Martin (July 24, 1964 – October 24, 1987), known to the underworld as 50 Cent, was an American criminal who grew up in the Bronx, New York, but later moved to Brooklyn, New York and was known as a stick-up kid in a Public Housing Project in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He is primarily known as the inspiration for the name of the famous rapper, 50 Cent.

Throughout the 1980s, Martin became a well-known robber who claimed his success through the robbery and murder of local hustlers. Martin was rumored to have snatched one of Rakim's chains from his neck (which was subsequently proven false by Brooklyn locals), but robbed LL Cool J's chain in a parking lot in Brooklyn.

Kelvin Martin was possibly known as '50 Cent' due to his reputation of being prepared to rob anyone, regardless of how much money they were carrying at the time. Another story is that it came from an incident when he entered a game of dice with a 50 cent stake and ended up walking away with $500. The nickname may also be an allusion to his physically tiny stature - he weighed only 120 pounds (54 kg) and his height was 5'2" (157 cm).[1]

Friends estimate that, throughout his life, Martin had sustained about 24 bullet wounds and murdered at least 30 people.[citation needed] Ultimately, gunshot wounds were the cause of his death. He was shot on October 20, 1987 on the stairway of his girlfriend's project building, dying in Kings County Hospital four days later. Julio "Wemo" Acevedo was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and "served about a decade" in prison for Martin's killing.[2] Later in 2013, New York City Police arrested Acevedo in a vehicular hit and run accident which killed 3 people in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.[3][4]

His life and influence were chronicled in an in-depth, biographical documentary, starting from his upbringing and carrying through past his death. The documentary is called Infamous Times: The Original 50 Cent.[5] Another documentary about him is called, The Original 50 Cent: The True Story of The Legend Who Inspired The Biggest Name In Rap.

References

  1. ↑ "Get Rich or Die Trying", Stuff Magazine, August, 2005
  2. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/03/06/us/ap-us-expectant-parents-killed.html?ref=us&_r=0 "Arrest in NYC Crash That Killed Expectant Parents" Associated Press 6 March 2013
  3. ↑ 'Hit-run' driver wanted in family's deaths did time for slaying of the original '50 Cent'. The New York Post. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  4. ↑ Suspect in Crash That Killed 3 Turns Himself In. The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  5. ↑ IMDB page for Infamous Times: The Original 50 Cent

See also

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