50 Cent has always been about three things: Hooks, Beats, and More Hooks. 50 Cent's ability to be creative during his verses is limited to say the least, but his ability to write catchy hooks and ride his charisma to the top of the charts. But what happens when his ability to write fire hooks over fire production has even diminished?

Don't let the album cover art and semi-self titled album name fool you,Curtis isn't one of those autobiographical, introspective, self-portrait albums. Nope, it's typical 50 with about half the charisma, the same rapping skills, and an utter lack of true bangers.

The majority of Curtis is what you'd expect; counterfactual gangsta rap and casuistic cautionary tales. Make no mistake, we saw this on The Massacre and Get Rich or Die Tryin' but the difference is - those were bangers. "My Gun Go Off", "Man Down", "I'll Still Kill", and "Curtis 187" are epic failures when compared to "What Up Gangsta", "Heat", "Ski Mask Way" or "In My Hood". "My Gun Go Off" serves as the album opener and features Curtis' gun-toting street rhymes with a dangerous flow. "Man Down" is... edited. Huh? How odd. "I'll Still Kill" was one of the latter singles from the album even though it's unlistenable in every sense of the word. The production is loud and obnoxious, Akon's high-pitched squeal-croon was played out when he was with Young Jeezy, and 50 just... there. "Curtis 187" features Havoc from Mobb Deep behind the boards; which is about all that I can think of as a pro. The rest of the song is just one big con.

Remember when I said this wasn't an autobiographical piece? Is there any more proof of that than when you see all of the guest appearances that plague the album? This is typical 50 and it's the typical guests bringing the same typical shit. As usual with 50 though, there's very little creativity in anything that he does OTHER than his aforementioned hooks. "Follow My Lead" is another "Best Friend"/"21 Questions" love song, except twice as flaccid and powerless. Robin Thicke's background crooning is completely unnecessary, but at least it's a paycheck. Eminem appears on "Peep Show" which, as is the problem with most cuts here, features a great beat with debilitated vocals. It's supposed to be a club song, something Eminem has proven time and time again that inadequate at. "Fire" features the embarrassing Young Buck and Nicole Scherzinger on the hook and serves as yet another club song. It's actually a fun song, but still does not quite capture the remarkableness of "Disco Inferno" and even "Just A Lil Bit", but it comes close. Buck sucks by the way. Mary J. Blige working with emcees is nothing new and normally great, so her appearance on "All Of Me" is appreciated. Jake One delivers another nectarous piece of music while Mary sings her ass off and 50 comes correct. "Touch The Sky" is garbage. Tony Yayo is one of the most untalented rappers to ever make a penny in this business and 50 isn't much better on this song. I immediately turn this off after about a minute in. Horrid.