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.

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

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.”

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.

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.

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.