On this date in 2005, the rags to riches tale of Hip Hop icon 50 Cent made it to the silver screen fifteen years ago with the debut of the hood gangsta flick Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Morphed from Fif’s album title with the same name, the “based on a true story” flick produced by Jimmy Iovine and Chris Lighty was actually 50 Cent’s acting debut before making almost 70 appearances on film and television. Marcus, who was played by 50 Cent, was hard on his luck hustler who lived with his grandparents after his mother was killed. After years of struggle in both the studio and the streets, GRODT captures 50’s gradual, grassroots rise to stardom through a now-defunct gem in Hip Hop culture; the mixtape.

The movie also focuses on the real-life attempt on 50 Cent’s life in 2000 in front of his grandmother’s house in Queens and how his survival became the punctuation mark to his success.

Salute to 50 Cent, G-Unit Films and Paramount Pictures for putting out such a pivotal piece of Hip Hop history!