50 Cent – Playground (First Three Chapters)

Entertainment Weekly has unveiled the first three chapters of Playground – 50 Cent’s partially autobiographical novel which follows the story a troubled 13-year-old named Butterball – touches on his own experience being a former bully. According to the introduction, which is located below, the purpose of the publication is to “show a kid who has become a bully — how and why that happened, and whether or not he can move past it.”

I’ll be the first to admit that not everything I’ve done in my life has been role-model material. I’ve been on the wrong side of the law. I’ve been in violent situations. I’ve also been a bully. I know how a person gets to be like that. That’s why I wanted to tell this story: to show a kid who has become a bully—how and why that happened,and whether or not he can move past it. Writing Playground was a personal journey for me. There’s a lot of me in Butterball. I drew on events that happened in my childhood and adolescence as well as things I saw around me. I also tapped into some of the feelings I remember having at that age—feelings aboutmy family, feelings about my future, feelings about other kids on the playground. Living life on the edge has taught me a lot, like the fact that being mentally strong will get you ahead in life. But being a bully won’t get you anywhere. Some kids don’t figure that out until it’s too late. Does Butterball? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson III New York, New York

In order to read the first three chapters of Fifty’s literary endeavor, go here. Playground hits shelves November 1.