From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kris Ex (Contributor)
Key Phrases: monkey drill, little nigga, drug game, New York, Jam Master Jay, Track Masters (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The rap superstar known as 50 Cent was born Curtis James Jackson III in 1976. His mother, a smalltime drug dealer, was murdered when he was eight, but that didn't stop him from pursuing her profession. 50 Cent is unflinchingly honest about his mother, his drug past and just about everything else in this raw, literate memoir chronicling his rise from Jamaica, Queens, to the top of the Billboard charts. In his neighborhood, recalls 50 Cent, the only people with money were the drug dealers: "They were my role models." By 11, he'd made his first sale. Over the next decade, 50 Cent evolved from a hustler selling capsules of crack cocaine ("pieces") to a kingpin purchasing by the kilo ("weight"). With money came girls, clothes, cars—and trouble. 50 Cent describes spraying bullets at rivals, outrunning police on his motorcycle and waking up to a drug raid on his house. He avoided jail by serving time in a boot camp–style incarceration center, which did nothing but turn him into a "stronger, meaner, and more focused criminal." His big break into music came through a chance meeting with Jam Master Jay (of Run-DMC). Yet even while trying to break into the business, 50 Cent couldn't leave his past behind, wearing bulletproof vests to meetings with record executives and slipping back into the drug trade when his career didn't take off immediately. Fans will discover the origins of 50 Cent's famous feud with Ja Rule; they'll also get more details about the notorious 2000 shooting that left him with nine bullet holes in his body. Opinionated, unrepentant and unabashedly self-promoting, 50 Cent's memoir celebrates the rapper's peculiar brand of the American Dream (and the title of his breakthrough album): Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"By now, 50 Cent's coronation as the new king of hardcore hip-hop is all but assured." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: MTV (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743488040
• ISBN-13: 978-0743488044
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,482 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The realest thing he ever wrote, August 12, 2005

By	Danielle A. Hunt "Honest opinion" (brooklyn, ny usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens (Hardcover)

I just finished my copy of From Pieces to Weight and it was incredible. I read the whole book in a day and a half i couldn't stop reading it. It is the core of the hood. In most instantces i could relate to him. Everything he said has to be actually lived out you can't make up stuff like that not even the movies can pin point that. I really hope that who ever reads this book realizes that coming up from the bottom is not the easiet thing to do.50 cent if you read this review this was a great book it felt as if i was up close and personal with you , this book will leave a great impact if people take time out to read it. God bless you and all your endevers and whoever else reads this book should realise his isn't glorifying anything negative it is what it is man .Keep your belief in God 50 and you will truely find out your purpose in life.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is, August 23, 2005

By	good reading makes good writing "deez reviews" (Queens, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens (Hardcover)

50's story is exactly what he says it is, an autobiography of sorts. It gives the reader a glimpse at the circumstances that helped shape the man he is today. What I really enjoyed about this book was his honesty when it came to his emotions. If he was scared he said "I was scared", there was no fronting. He did not try to play the tough guy, he gave you the scenarios he was faced with and left it to the reader to form an opinion. I thought the story was refreshing in it's realness. People watch Scarface over and over again because it's a rush, well imagine if it were a true story and Tony Montana wrote a book, everyone would read it. I happen to have lived in Jamaica Queens and so I guess reading about that part of the "hood" made it even more interesting for me. I think the people that are mad that he is capitalizing off of his fame(especially if you live in America) are not thinking straight. America is the land of capitalization. What do you want him to do, only rap and that's it...why? If there is a demand for his story then it's his job as a business man to supply that demand, end of story. 50 has led an interesting life thus far and he gave us a taste of it. Don't get upset that he is doing well, be happy for him. Be happy that he is not shooting up the streets, be happy that he can make money through his law abiding talents. Anyway, to those interested in buying the book, I thought it was good over all and it felt like watching a movie, action sequences and all. If you want to see the movie when it comes out, buy or borrow the book so that you can get the scoop early and compare it to the movie.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stereotypically, i didnt think he could write this well. I was proven very, very wrong, September 28, 2005

By	K. Scalcione (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens (Hardcover)

"Curtis Jackson" aka 50 Cent definatly shocked me with his tale of childhood. I LOVED the words and phrases that he uses in this book. Some parts are histerical. The number 1 reason that i want to read this book is because i was very curious about his life, growing up in Jamacia, Queens. I pass through there every day to go to Manhattan and i always wonder what his life was like. This book definatly lays it out for you.

However i thought that 50 Cent lacked the proper smooth transition to link his "hustlin'" days to his Rap days. I thought that it ABRUPTLY changed right from Drugs to Rap in a matter of a page. I felt he could have made that transition more smooth.

He also talked very little about his career as a rapper. I just thought he could have expanded on it as much as he did his childhood.

But over all i definatly give this book a 8 out of 10. It was very well written in a vocabulary sense and i thought it was appealing to younger audiences. A few people on the train asked me about this book and how i was. I told them to go to Borders ASAP and buy it. It is a definate good read.