Not to be outdone by MCs-cum-authors Jay-Z and T.I., 50 Cent is gearing up to release his first piece of teen fiction.
The Queens rapper's novel is entitled Playground and the story, following a troubled 13-year-old named Butterball, is partially autobiographical and draws on 50 Cent's youth as a childhood bully. According to the G-Unit head, he intends to explaining bullying with his work. Entertainment Weekly debuted the first three chapters of the book and here's an excerpt below from the introduction:
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 about my 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
Playground hits shelves on November 1.

(Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)