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Album Review
by SashaS
18-2-2003
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| 50 Cent's 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'', ace! |
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50 Cent: 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin’'
(Shady/Interscope)
50 Cent: new rap-head drops dope
The hype has worked to perfection and the release date was brought forward for fear of bootlegging; well, enough people were informed, 870,000 to be precise, to flock into record stores and snap the album in the five days to make it the most successful debut… Signed to Eminem’s Shady label and backed by Dr Dre, the signs were distinctive but the question was – could he deliver? ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’’ is the answer and the man from the vinyl-plantation confirms it with an (almost) emphatic – yes!
50 Cent, the New York native, tends to lean toward the old-skool of rappinghood, that of a gangsta kind. There are malicious thoughts and actions, tough language, violent stories from the streets, tracks with gunfire noises, screams and pain, urbanity at its worst. It is unfortunate but he knows carnage at its closest, the man was shot nine times in one day! That’s not just for credentials…
Raised in Queens by his grandparents after death of his mother, he was arrested on firearms charges last year and even suspected in slaying of Jam-Master Jay (of Run DMC) whose protégé he was, is well versed in metro culture. His take is a vibe down, slower than the currently preferred, making it a touch more ghostly and ominous. Hip-hop artists have been attempting to present more positive outlook over the last few years, more entertaining, bar a handful…
One of the major ones being Eminem and, sure, his boss appears on two tracks, even producing one: ‘Patiently Waiting’. Dr Dre is present as well, producing ‘Back Down’ and mixing ‘P.I.M.P.’. Very famous support but this is 50 Cent show, don’t forget it; the rhymes are mean and strong, real and dropped unapologetically and brutally. A chronicler of social realism…
The title of the album is a tad confusing because he doesn’t sound calculating, mercenary, Cent-man is FAR more dope. Sure, he wants to be rich but this album is without indication that he’d sold his soul to that end. And, aside quality, there is quantity: added to the 16 named tracks are three bonus cuts (credited on the inner sleeve), plus the initial shipment of the CD being a double-pack: the second disc contains an extra track, ‘Wanksta’ video and CD-Rom. A generous dose of 50 Cent.
An album as solid as marble Michelangelo chiselled into dramatic statues but where ‘…Rich/…Tryin’’ comes up short is – revolution. Not unreasonably one expected more innovation, forging further into the future...
8/10
SashaS
18-2-2003
50 Cent album ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ is released 17 Feb. 2003 on Shady/Interscope/Universal
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