50 Cent Arrested

50 Cent was arrested in New York City and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon on December 31st. The twenty-seven-year-old rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, had his SUV parked in a no-standing zone outside the Copacabana nightclub. When police officers stopped the vehicle two weapons were found, a .25-caliber handgun and a .45-caliber pistol. Police said both weapons were loaded. 50 Cent and his four passengers were each charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

The Queens-based rapper had been signed to Columbia Records in 1999, but when his debut album, Power of the Dollar, was heavily bootlegged, the label dropped him. 50 Cent then signed to Eminem's Shady/Aftermath label and appeared on the tracks "Love Me," "Places to Go" and "Wanksta" on the 8 Mile soundtrack.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter