50 Cent
‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Shady/Aftermath Records

New York’s 50 Cent loves the bad guy role, and he wants the world to know it. With a voice that loosely combines Mase’s laid back flow with Beanie Sigel’s baritone and emotion, 50 has a unique balance of style and substance. About five years ago, he came on the scene with one time Bad Boy producer “D-Dot” (under the guise of the Madd Rapper) with the single “How to Rob,” which served as premeditated robbery of many of the day’s biggest rappers. Though it got a little airplay on hip-hop stations, it’s safe to say it did not go over well with his “victims.” Art imitated life when Ja Rule got robbed three years ago and 50 was seen with the culprit shortly thereafter, starting an ongoing feud between 50, Ja Rule and his Murder Inc. label.

After being shot nine times in 2000 and dropped from his label, Sony, shortly thereafter, 50 seemed to be at the end of his career. But 50 hit the underground. Lyrically sharp and constantly making songs with his group, G Unit, 50 became an underground success, and his hunger and determination could be heard on every freestyle he spit and every song he released underground. Last summer Eminem stumbled upon a mix tape of 50’s work and fell in love with it. In no time, 50 became the newest rapper on Em and Dr. Dre’s Shady/Aftermath label, and his first two singles, “Wanksta” and “In Da Club” have turned him into a hip-hop heavyweight virtually overnight.

“Get Rich or Die Tryin'” is 50’s full-length debut. By the time you read this, the album will be close to selling its first million copies. But does it live up to its expectations? The first real test comes early on the CD in the form of “Patiently Waiting,” featuring Eminem, who also produced the track. 50 holds his own against one of the best in the game today, and the outcome is an instant classic, full of sharp rhymes and emotion that are reminiscent of Em’s “Marshall Mathers LP.”

But 50 proves throughout the album that he can do it by himself just as well. Standout tracks include “Many Men (Wish Death),” “Like My Style” and the Ja Rule diss “Back Down.” The best track, however, is “Heat.” Over a Dre-produced masterpiece that consists of a call-and-response beat between an organ note and a gunshot, 50 spits clever threats at anyone who has ever entertained the thought of going up against him.

50 doesn’t deviate far from the theme of “Heat,” with the exception of “21 Questions” that displays a different side of rap’s realest artist. The constant theme could equally help and hurt the album, because even though it shows that 50 stays true to form, it may also make the album wear thin on some listeners quickly. It’s this fact that makes the album’s length an issue. Though there aren’t any particularly weak songs, the album’s 19 tracks, as a whole, seem to run about three or four songs too long, making the album a little repetitious and some of the songs tough to separate from one another.

Lyrically, 50 Cent is consistent throughout the album, but shines brightest on the final two bonus cuts, which highlight the intensity, humor and craftiness that drew Eminem to 50 in the first place. On the last track, “Life’s on the Line,” 50 boasts, “Now here’s a list of MC’s that can kill you in eight bars/ 50, umm, Jay-Z and Nas.” This is a difficult statement for any of today’s rappers, new or old, to back up, and 50 almost pulls it off with ease on “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” Its overall strength is definitely comparable to both rappers’ latest releases. This album should place him in a good position to contend with them as the throne’s current occupier.

Information on 50 Cent’s background was found in The Source Magazine, in the July 2002 issue.