When he was growing up, 50 was in a lot of fights. In fact, he often started the fights. “I was the aggressor,” 50 told Action. He felt that if he attacked first, he wouldn’t have to be afraid of someone else coming after him.

LOOKING BACK

Today, 50 is sorry for many things he did. He realizes that he didn’t handle his feelings in the right way. One reason was that he didn’t have adults in his life to talk to.

As a kid, 50 lived in a rough neighborhood in Queens, part of New York City. His mother was a drug dealer who was murdered when he was 8 years old.

After that, 50 lived with his grandparents. Because they were older, he thought that they didn’t understand what he was going through.

“I didn’t have anyone around for guidance in a lot of the situations I was in,” says 50. By the time he was a teenager, 50 was involved in drugs and violence. He was even shot—nine times.

50 wants teens to stay away from the problems he had when he was younger. To help them learn from his mistakes, 50 did something you probably wouldn’t expect. He wrote a book of fiction.

PLAYGROUND

50’s new book, Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully, came out in November. Although it is fiction, 50 says that he based the book on real events from his life.

The main character in the book is Butterball, a 13-year-old boy. Butterball gets into a lot of trouble. He beats people up, steals, and is suspended from school.

“I’ve been on the wrong side of the law. I’ve also been a bully. I know how a person gets to be like that,” says 50. “That’s why I wanted to tell this story: to show a kid who has become a bully—how and why that happened.”

A BULLY’S WORLD

In Playground, other teens—and even adults—put pressure on Butterball to do things that are wrong. His parents aren’t there for him. And Butterball feels bad about himself because he is overweight. (50 told Action that he also was overweight as a teen.)

Butterball feels lonely, confused, and angry. And that makes him act out. “The book gives you examples of how you could deal with your feelings in the wrong way,” explains 50. He believes it will help readers avoid making the same mistakes.

Bad Choices

In the story, Butterball has moved to a new town where he has few friends. Other kids make fun of him.

Butterball thinks that a boy named Maurice has talked about him behind his back. In his anger, he brutally beats up Maurice.

Suddenly, other kids show Butterball respect. But they start pushing him to even more violence. They are just using him. Butterball realizes he has hurt the people who really care about him, and he can’t take that back.

Butterball faces hard questions. Can he change his life and move past what he did? How can he make better choices to improve his future? 50 hopes readers will also think about these questions.

Lessons Learned

50 says that he turned his own life around after the birth of his son, Marquise, who is now 15. “He was my motivation,” 50 told us. “He still is.”

While he was writing Playground, 50 was thinking about Marquise. He hopes his son will learn from the book. “Living life on the edge has taught me a lot,” says 50. “Being a bully won’t get you anywhere.”