Rapper 50 Cent lost 50 pounds in order to play a football player battling cancer in the upcoming Mario Van Peebles film, Things Fall Apart.

The Queens rapper normally weighs at 214 pounds, but he released photo's of himself this week looking frail weighing at 160 pounds. 50 Cent explained how he lost the weight within nine weeks by going on a liquid diet and spending three hours a day walking on a treadmill.

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, admitted on his website Thisis50.com, that it wasn't easy dropping the weight. "I was starving." While on his The Invitation tour, 50 had been gorging. "I'll be back in shape in no time!," he says.

The 34-year-old rap mogul, also removed the tatoos on his arm for both his upcoming movie projects Fall Apart and Twelve, which co-stars Chace Crawford. NyDailyNews.com reports.

50 tells NYDailyNews.com, "It cuts down on the amount of time I have to spend in makeup covering them up." 50 decided to keep his back tatoo.

50 Cent starts his US tour Friday in Cleveland and will hit New York on June 22.

The rapper co-wrote the movie Things Fall Apart, which will hit theatres next year.