50 Cent has been dealt a personal blow in an otherwise prolific year as his grandfather Curtis Jackson Sr. has passed away.
The Power mogul announced the tragic news on Wednesday (July 31), writing on Instagram: “You do know none of this shit really matters, [winking emoji] we can’t take it with us. I lost my Grandfather last night, now he can go everywhere with me.”
In a follow-up post on Thursday (August 1), 50 penned a heartfelt tribute to the man who raised him while sharing photos of the two of them from over the years.
“My old man is [a] tuff act to follow, he sacrificed for all of us. He made me smile every time I saw him,” he wrote.
Fif then shared an amusing anecdote about his grandad, who seemingly never lost his sense of humor despite struggling with health issues.
“The Last time he went to the hospital he was dehydrated so the nurse couldn’t find a vein. I came in, I said pop you alright?” he recalled. “He said no [confused face emoji], she stick me again and I’m a start shooting.
“LOL [laughing emoji] I almost fell out! [three laughing and crying emojis] South Side we out side WTF!”
50’s grandfather was 91 years old, although a cause of death has yet to be revealed.
The G-Unit boss received an outpouring of love and support from his Hip Hop contemporaries, with Busta Rhymes commenting: “Sorry for your loss Fif!! Rest Pops Rest King.”
Producer Rockwilder added: “My condolences king! He was a G foreal! Loved him on the get rich or die trying doc CD!” while fellow production legend Pete Rock said: “my condolences king @50cent.”
Russell Simmons also offered some words of sympathy, writing: “God bless keep your head up a wise yogi tod me ‘we already dead.’”
The death of 50’s grandfather comes almost a decade after his grandmother Beulah Jackson passed away.
The rap legend and media mogul was, of course, raised by his grandparents after his mother was killed in a fire when he was just eight years old, at which point his father had already left home.
Reflecting on his upbringing in a past interview, 50 said: “I grew up with my grandparents. We were living on my grandfather’s income. He was real old-fashioned. He is a representation of tradition for me.”
He also credited him with teaching him a valuable life lesson: “He would come [home] and give my grandmother his check, and I never understood that growing up […] Later, as an adult, he said, ‘You couldn’t see it and you won’t understand it ’cause you were a baby, but I gave your mama the check to stop her from looking at things I couldn’t give her.’”
He added: “If you understand where you’re at financially, you make logical decisions versus if you didn’t have an understanding because he was handling things, then you could feel deprived. It could feel like there’s something else out there that you’re not experiencing.”
