Say what up to a Gangsta

50 Cent is the newest and hottest thing to hit the streets harder than a bolt of lightning. Well no not completely new but considering all the hype surrounding the New York rapper you would think so.
50 isn't the average fake thug 'gangsta' he's a real G. His grandparents brought him up at an early age after his mother, a drug dealer herself, was shot dead and his father was already out of the picture. As if that wasn't bad enough 50 got into drug dealing at age 12 when he started selling crack, a rock was even found in his shoe at school by the police. In and out of jail most of his young life, the arrival of his young son resulted in a reality check for 'Curtis Jackson' and he decided the music business was for him. But tough times came again a few years ago, just after the release of his first underground single, 50 was shot nine times, yes nine. He also took a bullet in the jaw, which affected his tone of voice.

From start to finish you can tell that this album will go down as a classic. With slick production and hard-hitting lyrics this is sure to be a street banger. With a certain Mr. Mathers and Andre Young behind it you know the hype isn't just hype. The media are in on it as well as the streets, which any rapper will tell you 'street cred' is important.

Up next is the excellent 'patiently waiting' feat. Eminem. It is also produced by Eminem who is improving his lab skills with each song he produces. A slow mellow beat matches nicely with 50's vocals. The song focuses on 50 patiently waiting to blow and get his chance to shine. The beat speeds up on Eminem's verse with a hospital life machine beeping in the background. It’s Eminem so the lyrics are as usual, amazing. He sounds dark and real and a great addition to the track.

Next is the first single 'In da club', produced by the excellent Dr. Dre. The beat is simple 'dun dun, dun dun, dun dun' basically. The hook is catchy, vocals and lyrics good too. It’s a winning track and great choice of first single, definitely doing the album a favour.

The next track 'Blood hound' feat. Young Buck of G Unit is another favourite. The beat is one of those bouncing types with every line ending in a dogs bark. It works well. Young Buck of 50's G-unit crew is a great addition to the track and he could be big in the future judging by this track.

'P.I.M.P' is produced by member of D12 'Denaun Porter' and is Caribbean sounding. Works well with the vocals and the hook. I'm not sure why but there is something slightly camp about this track. Especially at the end when 50 says 'in the hood there’s no business like hoe business'. Great track.

'Poor lil rich' is about how his jewellery talks for him. On the inside he is poor but outside he is rich because of his roots. The beat is funky and upbeat. Good track but not outstanding.

'Don't Push Me' feat. Lloyd Banks of G-Unit and Eminem. Another track produced and featuring Eminem. The beat is dark as is the theme. Jealousy, envy and murder are all covered here. The chorus is simple 'right now i'm on the edge, so don't push me...'
Lloyd Banks is also very good on this track. Eminem spits an angry third verse about meeting the real Marshall, sweat and tears etc. Good track.

This album also contains bonus tracks which are on 50's previous effort 'guess who's back' apart from 'Wanksta' from the 8 mile soundtrack. So the album totals up to 19 tracks at a total running time of 69 minutes and 39 seconds of bangin' hip hop tunes.
The album is well put together and there are no tracks to skip here. I actually played this twice through without stopping, which I can't do with many albums so that’s something.

The package I got included a bonus CD with the 'In da club' acapella and bonus CD-rom footage. The footage gives you an insight into 50's world and is quite interesting. The 'wanksta' music video is also included.

Overall this is one of the most promising hip-hop artists to come out in a long time and being signed to Shady/Aftermath certainly wont do his bank any harm. Buy this album if you are a hip-hop fan it is a must even if you think its commercial, it really isn’t, although I can imagine a few non-rap fans enjoying this also. Overall score: 8/10,its a quality album but its not quite 2pac status.