50 Cent - 50 Cent Urges Youths To Exercise

Rapper 50 CENT is urging his young fans to exercise more in a bid to stay out of trouble - and he'll host a special day in his native New York over the weekend (26Jun10) to get the message across.

The In Da Club hitmaker wants to encourage children and teenagers to avoid staying indoors, playing on computers and watching TV - and get active in their communities instead.

50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, endured a troubled childhood and, at the age of 25, was shot nine times outside of his grandmother's house.

Good health and fitness helped him turn his life around and now the father of 14-year-old Marquise wants to help other kids grow up in a better environment.

He will be hosting Forever Young Day on Saturday (26Jun10) in Baisley Park, Queens, not far from where he grew up - to promote exercise to local children over a six-hour period.

He tells the New York Daily News, "I want to be able to go and talk to them and (have) them really feel what my experience has been. They do what they’re influenced to do... I had no options. It was, 'Go on welfare or go in the street.' Technology is keeping them still."

The star tried to host a similar event last year (09), but the show was cancelled over fears a concert he had planned would be marred by violence.

50 Cent insists he has no plans to perform at Forever Young Day, because of the chaos which surrounded Drake's concert in the Big Apple earlier this month (Jun10) - Drake's gig was cancelled after overcrowding led to violent outbursts. An upcoming free show headlined by Ke$ha has also been axed for fears of similar problems.