50 Cent strikes deal to settle bankruptcy

American rapper Curtis James Jackson aka 50 Cent has made a deal to settle what he owes to creditors.

50 Cent has struck a new payment deal with creditors in the hopes of settling his bankruptcy case within months.

The In da Club star, real name Curtis Jackson, filed for bankruptcy in a Connecticut court last July and is reported to owe a slew of creditors a total of over $US30 million (NZD$45.2 million).

He was summoned to a hearing on Wednesday to answer questions about his assets after flaunting wads of cash on social media, including one photo in which he spelled out the word "broke" with stacks of $US100 bills.

In legal papers filed on Tuesday, the hip-hop mogul insisted the money was fake and simply to keep up appearances, and the musician's lawyers continued to argue his case in front of US Bankruptcy Judge Ann M Nevins on Wednesday.

During the hearing, his defence team insisted 50 has been upfront about all of his assets, worth an alleged $US65 million, as his lawyers objected to requests to have an independent investigator examine his finances in more detail.

The judge declined to rule on the motion for an independent examiner until a later date, but admitted she was leaning towards the idea."

(A court-appointed examiner would) would resolve lingering doubts that what's going on is not being taken seriously by the debtor and by the courts," she stated.

"If we don't go that route, we've invited a certain level of disrespect for the bankruptcy process."

Meanwhile, 50 Cent's lawyers also revealed he had reached a deal with creditors which could free him from bankruptcy later this year, reported the New York Daily News.

The agreement, which still needs the judge's approval, requires 50 Cent to pay around 74 per cent of what he owes his biggest creditors.

Among those receiving settlements would be Lastonia Leviston, the former lover of 50's rap rival Rick Ross, who successfully sued the star for leaking footage from her sex tape, and won $US7 million in damages (NZD$10 million). 50 filed for bankruptcy shortly after the court loss.

The settlement news emerges weeks after the hip-hop mogul blasted a previous offer from creditors, including Sleek Audio and SunTrust Bank, claiming it violates the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, which bans slavery and involuntary servitude.

"The plan conditions (50's) access to food and shelter on the whims of the trustee, who answers only to the (creditors)," stated his lawyers in legal papers rejecting the offer in February.

- AAP