Review of

Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Special Edition) [ECD] [PA] - 50 Cent

Overall rating (35): Overall user rating Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Special Edition) [ECD] [PA] - 50 Cent

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Lets not kid ourselves: 50 Cent is hot

4 Jul 14th, 2003

Advantages:
Fabulously entertaining

Disadvantages:
Pretty darn repetitive in terms of self - expression

Recommendable: Yes 

Detailed rating:

Originality

Lyrics

Quality and consistency of tracks

Value for Money

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sargonau

About me: Hey there. While I'm not studying, I'm a regular columnist for Vibewire.net

Member since:07.07.2003

Reviews:13

Members who trust:1

Review rated by 24 Ciao members on average: very helpful

Those who have glanced at my other reviews might have noticed that I almost always put in a reference to rap music. The reason for this escapes me at this precise moment, save for being mainly psychological. I think it’s because my greatest pleasure is when I am able to review an actual rap CD. This is not just because it provides a perfect opportunity for me to air my own personal opinions on social issues, but also because I am a genuine fan of underground rap. So, here I will endeavour to explain why 50 Cent’s latest venture is a rowdy, yet satisfyingly bumpy work.

Not many would contend the fact that we are living in a day and age when music is heavily reliant on the artist projecting a persona. When you take a rapper from Queens, New York – whose very art form is based upon this notion – one encounters a mastery of this talent to a tee. Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ is 50 Cent’s follow up on his previous underground release entitled Guess Who’s Back. It tells the tale of an aspiring rapper who has been ‘Patiently Waiting’. Now that wait is over. Once a single copy of one of 50 Cent’s various mixtapes made its way into the hands of controversial rapper Eminem, it was inevitable that an all out bidding war for his services would ensue.

Major record labels, including Interscope, entered the contest in an attempt to reel in a potential moneymaker. For quite a while, everyone was at everyone else’s throat. A subsidiary label to Interscope – Shady/Aftermath – eventually clinched the deal and came out on top. For now, the disputes have ceased and 50 Cent’s future locked in as commercially successful, thanks to the backing of rap moguls Dr. Dre and Eminem

The album itself rings familiar with the anti-social attitude that a number of “gangsta” rappers bring. It’s basically a “don’t mess with me” outlook indicative of, in this particular instance, a hard weathered 26-year-old who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. I can already hear you asking, is this yet another cliché filled hip-hop record? To say it isn’t would be a lie. However, despite the foul reviews given by some newspapers or urban magazines, please trust me when I say that 50 Cent is still an original artist with a definitive purpose: to get rich or die trying.

Tirades of hip-hop musicians have boasted of doing it, still not many of these have been shot nine times. Nor is it likely that they had a mother ply her trade as a drug dealer, even though a couple have probably sold drugs themselves. Curtis Jackson, as 50 Cent is otherwise known, undoubtedly had a tough childhood surviving in the ghetto. He is currently dealing with the courts over a weapons possession charge. Whether the resulting lyrics are minced words is somewhat hazy, although the listener can derive what insight they wish by playing the cocky track ‘Heat’: “I do what I gotta do, I don’t care if I get caught/The D.A. can play this muthaf*ckin’ tape in court.”

Without going as far as to claim that this is a hip-hop classic, this record certainly is in a league and class of its own. In some respects 50 Cent’s calibre is definitely right up there amongst The Chronic and The Slim Shady LP. A couple of songs boast the same undeniable charisma as his legendary underground track ‘How To Rob An Industry Ni*ga’ in which 50 Cent pokes fun at every big shot rapper imaginable. Intertwined with his self-gratifying and humorous rhymes are excellent g-funk beats and solid multi-syllable rhyming schemes. Even if he isn’t on the same level as that of Nas or Rakim, he does make a superb effort and comes off sounding almost like he is an excellent free-styler, who just writes the choruses to his songs.

50 Cent’s style is ingenious not because it is arrogant in a way that doesn’t alienate listeners, but because it is effortlessly so. Seemingly mumbling his way through each verse, 50 Cent’s sarcastic lyricism shines through in tracks like ‘21 Questions’, ‘In Da Club’ and most of all in the bonus track titled ‘Wanksta’. I assume that they don’t understand the irony of that title in the States. Even though his flow is at times not consistent on the mike, his baritone voice coupled with evident wit in lines such as “If David could go against Goliath with a stone, I could go against Nas and Jigga/both for the throne” more than make up for any shortcomings in the humbleness department.

Those not entirely comfortable with the idea of a bunch of grown men posturing, threatening, swearing and probably offending in the name of music – don’t fret excessively because this album isn’t as bad as some of the other stuff out there. In fact, for the most part I found it to be surprisingly good in taste. Not that I’m bothered with that stuff or anything.

As expected, the production is slick and confident. There are a host of banging beats, out of which two standout; these are ‘Like My Style’ and ‘Gotta Make It To Heaven’. The latter is one of the club anthems that New York City played constantly when this album first dropped. ‘Gotta Make It To Heaven’ is a distinctly dark song, yet the instrumental brings it down. The song is about how 50 Cent is keeping an eye out on everyone in the industry and how friends can easily betray you. Interesting subject matter… I guess. ‘Like My Style’ is permeates perfection, in its delivery (which rains down fast like bullets) as well as in the beat. As far as guest appearances go, there are a few good ones including Kon Artis, Nate Dogg, Tony Yayo, Young Buc and Lloyd Banks.

‘Many Men (Wish Death)’ is arguably the best track on the whole album. A less than subtle metaphor for his own experiences with life and death, 50 Cent is at his most haunting here. I suspect that he was vaguely trying to touch an emotional nerve. If he was, he should put in a more concrete effort next time. He sings the chorus with gusto, “Many men, many, many, many, many men, wish death upon me/Lord I don’t cry no mo’/don’t look to the sky no mo’/have mercy on me, have mercy on my soul”. 50 Cent rides the beat perfectly; and the piano loop provides much for the atmosphere.

Along with the customary tomfoolery, there is much talk about being “gangsta”. Strange I think, because debut releases usually need to be marketable, so the songs on Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ are really a choice selection of what Curtis Jackson describes as “the best of 50 Cent.” The rest has been left behind. No one can deny there are a number of materialistic qualities present in several of the songs. It’s very “bling-bling” and flashy. Some of you older listeners might want to pull up your socks before you listen to this one. Despite this, there is one thing that this collection of 19 songs does which only a minority of records can do for me: it gives me that much needed fix of oomph. Not to mention that it’s very addictive, i.e. cool and all my friends listen to it.

Seriously though, this album is so catchy and bouncy, my neck, arms and pretty much my whole body have a hard time not moving to the beat when the tracks come on. Right now I’m finding it hard to sit still at my keyboard.

Overall Comment: Get this... now!  

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Comments about this review
rishil1993

rishil1993

20.12.2005 19:22

this review is just amzing! exceptional how do you do it???!!!!!

kristian1111

kristian1111

31.03.2004 13:03

good op, this album is great and great all round!!

Lil_Miss_Pink

Lil_Miss_Pink

22.01.2004 14:18

I have this album and love it... I would have to disagree that 'Many Men' is the best track, I'd have to say that Patiently Waiting is by far superior but that's just my opinion... probalby cos it's got Eminem featured on it... been to see both in concert and both were phenomenal!!!!!

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This review of Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Special Edition) [ECD] [PA] - 50 Cent has been rated:

"exceptional" by (4%):
  1. rishil1993

"very helpful" by (88%):
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