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Perhaps one of the most anticipated rappers we've seen in years has
stepped to the plate. He has been run through the hype machine, magazines,
mixtapes, TRL, BET, ER and of course, studios. 50 Cent, born Curtis
Jackson, has risen from the streets of Jamaica, Queens, and has bullet
scars to prove it. While hustling the streets he ran across the now late
Jam Master Jay who listened to 50's dilemma about getting out of the street
and Jay decided to give him a beat to let 50 write to, a week later 50
came back with a song (though grotesquely formatted) and Jay saw a spark of
potential and decided to bring 50 onto his own label.
The two produced a few songs together, one of which ("How To Rob") caused
very many heads to turn as 50 Cent dissed almost everyone in the hip
hop industry, and he managed to do it in a matter of three verses. After
that Curtis drew in some long time friends from the street and formed
his own posse G Unit, who quickly began dominating mixtapes in NYC. Mixtape
rotation was high enough to reach the ears of megastar Marshall Mathers,
who decided to have a sit down with Dre, 50 and 50's manager Sha Money, soon
after a deal was born leaving us with so much hype it begs to wonder if
the hype can ever be succeeded by 50 Cent's sophomore CD in the game,
dropped through Shady/Aftermath Records, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'".
Right from the get-go, that southern drawl kicks in and 50's rhythmic
voice is known through a rather simple song, "What Up Gangsta". Simple
lyrics never complex but yet it's a nice beat and melodic hook. One of
50's bosses, Eminem, appears on track two "Patiently Waiting", the beat
is slow, the hook once again is memorable and the obvious intent on
the CD is aimed at only expressing whatever happens to come across the
minds of the writers. Eminem kicks some ridiculous flow in verse 2 and
50 sums up the song with the first line of verse three, "you shouldn't
throw stones if you live in a glass house / and if you got a glass jaw
you should watch your mouth". "In da Club" is the first release as you
may have already heard, it's a certified jam from the beat and catchy
hook.
Now after surviving being shot multiple times as well as being stabbed,
it's clear 50 is not liked by everyone and this is acknowledged on "Many
Men (Wish Death)". Curtis kicks some serious street lyrics here, the beat
is hot, a definite hood banger, just like "High All the Time". The latter
drops a steady beat and an undeniable chorus with plenty of chants to
keep you rewinding, the song stays dark and deadly, and some nice flow is
inevitable, "if you love me, tell me you love me, don't stare at me
man / I['d] hate to be in the pen for clappin one of my fans". "Heat" is
pure street, 50 spews over a fire-laced beat. He spits about cocking guns
and letting the lead fly, most of the time he does it in a semi-clever
way, mostly made possible by his voice and style.
"If I Can't" drops a stop'n'go beat, kind of like Mary's "No Mo' Drama"
but on a much slower tempo, which makes sense since it was produced by
Dr. Dre. Premise of the song is that if 50 can't do it, then it can't be
done, very melodic and will be fresh every time it's played. "Blood Hound"
G Unit's own Young Buck guest stars on "Blood Hound", but he displays
nothing of any note. The production is game-tight, the flow is predictable
but we aren't really listening to this to hear philosophy though, are we?
Either way, it's nice, but not as nice as "Back Down", where $.50 takes
it back to his basics and decides to call out a few people, but mainly
Jeffrey Atkins, aka Ja Rule, in fact the whole ending of the song is
dedicated to sparking jokes at Ja.
"P.I.M.P." explores the pimp game, where 50 plays the part of extorting
women for money, nice beat but tired flow. "Like My Style" picks the
tempo up a little bit which mixes real nice with 50's lazy speech. The
chorus is forgettable, and the track says that Tony Yayo features, but
it's real minimal. "Poor Lil Rich" adds on another track to cushion the
CD as a whole, it gives what is expected, good music and that ghetto
vibe. Perhaps one of my favorite tracks is "21 Questions", which brings
in the master of thug-R&B (if there is such a thing), Nate Dogg himself.
50 is asking questions to his girl over a very smooth R&B beat, a smooth
song doomed to make you want to hear it again with lines like: "we're only
humans girl we make mistakes / to make it up I do whatever it take / I
love you like a fat kid loves cake / you know my style I say anything to
make you smile".
"Don't Push Me" is very notable, the beat is hard, the lyrics match it.
The lyricists are on the edge, and perhaps the best verse
comes from G Unit's Lloyd Banks outshining even Eminem who starts kind of
weak but ends his verse on fire. "Gotta Make it to Heaven" is 50 speaking
about his street life, from being in Intensive Care to killing haters (which he's
claimed to have done twice). The official CD stops here, the bonus tracks
include "Wanksta", "U Not Like Me" (which he spits "I don't smile alot,
cuz ain't nothin pretty / got a purple heart for war and I ain't ever left
the city") and "Life's on the Line", the latter two definitely contribute
nicely.
What should you expect when you pick this up? Well, since it's executive
produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem, expect a lot of tight production, and since
it is 50 Cent also expect a lot of violence and death and the general
misuse of women. Expect a few witty lyrics, and sticky hooks. Don't pick
up the CD if you're expecting something ground-breaking here, it is
definitely not. What it definitely is, is a great style flowing over some
hot beats and chanting some good choruses and spilling some street-life
lyrics, reminiscent of so many other street-prophets. There are a few
must-listens, such as Lloyd Banks' flow on "Don't Push Me", and you should
probably hear the bonus cut "Life's on the Line" where 50 actually opens
his mouth all the way to rhyme, as well as "21 Questions" & "Many Men
(Wish Death). Overall, a quality product to feed the streets all over
America a national hood-banger. 4 planets.
Track Listing:
01. Intro
02. What Up Gangsta
03. Patiently Waiting (feat. Eminem)
04. Many Men (Wish Death)
05. In Da Club
06. High All the Time
07. Heat
08. If I Can't
09. Blood Hound (feat. Young Buck of G Unit)
10. Back Down
11. P.I.M.P.
12. Like My Style (feat. Tony Yayo of G Unit)
13. Poor Lil Rich
14. 21 Questions (feat. Nate Dogg)
15. Don't Push Me (feat. Lloyd Banks of G Unit & Eminem)
16. Gotta Make It to Heaven
Skrabble Rating:
4 out of 5 Planets
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