Almost a penny per pound

Losing 50-plus pounds was a complicated process for 50 Cent – but not an entirely new one.

He plays a football player with cancer, based on a childhood friend of his, in the upcoming film “Things Fall Apart.”

The 6-foot rapper dropped from 214 pounds to 160 in nine weeks after liquid dieting and running on a treadmill three hours a day.

He says that when he was shot in the jaw in 2000, he could drink only liquids and his weight dropped to 157.

50 Cent, whose weight is back up to 198, says “it was a lot tougher” this time.

He released his fourth album in November and kicked off a North American tour in Detroit on Saturday.

Will it be a Swizz miss?

Alicia Keys is pregnant with her first child.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer has been dating producer Swizz Beatz, who has written hits for Beyonce, Jay-Z and others. They’re engaged to be married at a private ceremony later this year.

Beatz has been married before and has two sons.

No more milkshakes

It’s officially over between rappers Kelis and Nas.

Kelis Rogers, known for her hit “Milkshake,” filed for divorce from Nasir Jones last May after almost six years of marriage.

Jones was ordered in December to pay more than $51,000 a month to Rogers and their infant son.

The birthday bunch

Actor Andy Griffith is 84. Singer Pat Boone is 76. Actor Morgan Freeman is 73. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 70. Guitarist Ron Wood (the Rolling Stones) is 63. Actor Jonathan Pryce is 63. Actor Powers Boothe is 62. Country singer Ronnie Dunn (Brooks and Dunn) is 57. Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 54. Actress Teri Polo is 41. Model Heidi Klum is 37. Singer Alanis Morissette is 36. Singer Brandi Carlile is 29.