Getting What You Want

Do you or do you not believe the hype? That’s the question at this time of age when you hear anything about 50 Cent, the New York rapper who used to be the underground king, the guy who allegedly hit Ja Rule in the face, the dude that was small and is so big right now. With his signing to Shady Records, the hype was just starting off: 50’s debut “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” is sure to go at least triple platinum. But is it a good record?

Well, as far as my personal opinion is concerned, I don’t think that you should believe the hype. “Get Rich Or…” is not bad at all, but it’s only a bit more than average. The reasons? Well, in a few cases, it’s the beats, in more others, it’s the lyrics, but more than this and that, it’s the fact that there’s just nothing new. It’s all the old stuff, it’s the bitches not girlfriends, it’s the gat and the jewels, it’s the way the booklet is made… Take “What Up Gangsta”, the first track, for example: It’s a loveless try of a hood anthem with boring lines. “Patiently Waiting” featuring Eminem has an awkward beat done by Eminem himself, but besides that, the track is not bad, except for the fact that Eminem outshines 50 about that many times – well, that’s something that goes for most of the rappers today. “In Tha Club” is a definite banger, mostly due to the production. The lyrics are easy and cool for a club song, nothing special of course, but okay for that club joint. “Heat”, another piece of gold produced by Dr. Dre, is also a big time burner: Of course a great production matching with 50’s style, the topic is of course gangsta-like but who cares as long as the track is at least dope. “Blood Hound” is too nervous for my taste, but there certainly are people who like this thing. “P.I.M.P.”, well, I guess you get what this shit is about, don’t you? It’s a nervous Denaun Porter production about the bitches not the ladies not the girls. I’m sorry, but if all those self-called pimps are pimps, then where does America take its kids from? Honestly, I heard it, not that I never like this style, but it’s just sooo played out somehow. A lot of the rest is not worth to be mentioned, I personally like “Don’t Push Me” with Eminem and Lloyd Banks of G-Unit – Em spits hardcore on every track he is, word. And this time, the beat is cool too. “Gotta Make It Happen” is the last official track on this album. It’s a Megahertz joint which moves asses, and it’s 50 Cent also spitting cool. The bonus tracks (“Wanksta” and two other tracks) are not bad but not superdope either. Exception: “Nobody Likes Me” brings some of that “How To Rob An Industry N****” style back – definitely a good decision for 50 Cent…  

And that’s what I meant with the article’s title. If 50 wants the cash, he’s definitely gonna get what he wants. The hype is sooo big and there will be millions of units moved. But if he liked to persuade the fans, even the sceptical ones, well, then this one was not the right choice. Even though people are gonna hate on me for writing this, this is how I hear it: some songs are convincing (not state of the art), others are not, the album is definitely not a classic and it also is definitely not able to come up to the hype. Five good tracks are just not enough. A little more ideas, a little more variety, and it would have become a much better record. But this won’t affect sales figures I guess.