MTV Books and Pocket Books To Publish 50 Cent's Autobiography

Posted on May 28, 2003

50 Cent, a popular rap star, has signed a deal with MTV Books/Pocket Books to publish his autobiography. The book will cover the rapper's life in detail, including how he overcame his history of drug dealing activities and surviving numerous attempts on his life. It will also feature poetry and lyrics taken directly from his personal scrapbooks. Rapper 50 Cent will also take Polaroid photos -- one a day for 50 days -- for the book.

"50 Cent has a voice that resonates with an expanding audience of fans that are drawn to his lyrics, music, and powerful voice," said Louise Burke, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Pocket Books. "We are thrilled to have him join our MTV Books/Pocket Books list."

50 Cent, a protege of Eminem and Dr. Dre, debuted on the scene earlier this year. His first commercial release, Get Rich or Die Trying, was the highest-selling debut album of all time with sales of almost 900,000 copies in the first week alone, and five million since its release in February. His latest release, 50 Cent: The New Breed, a combination CD/DVD, debuted at #1 on April 15, 2003. Both projects remain on the Billboard Top Ten.

The acquisition was made by Pocket Books Associate Publisher Liate Stehlik and Pocket Books editor Lauren McKenna, in a deal brokered by agents Marc Gerald and Mykel Mitchell of Los Bravos Management for world rights. MTV Books/Pocket Books will publish this as a hardcover in December 2003.

MTV Books is an imprint of MTV: Music Television and Pocket Books. Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster, part of the entertainment operation of Viacom Inc.. MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks.