Kelvin Darnell Martin (July 24, 1964 – October 24, 1987), also known as 50 Cent, was an American who grew up in the Bronx, New York, but later moved to Brooklyn, New York. He is primarily known as the inspiration for the name of the rapper, 50 Cent.
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 and his height was 5’2″.
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhKAiRZ-9xs
