Get Rich or Die Tryin' [PA] - Cent, 50 (CD 2003)

The unbelievable hype surrounding Get Rich Or Die Trying is irrefutable evidence that those nine bullets that slammed into the body of New York rapper 50 Cent back in 1999 were a blessing in disguise. Though he sparked an interest in himself with his early jam How to Rob, his mostly middling subsequent tracks and releases only brought him a moderate degree of recognition in the industry. All that changed with the shooting incident. Suddenly, 50s mixtapes and freestyles were the hottest things in the streets, riding high on the ghetto credibility that only multiple GSWs can bring. Signing with.

I ve always been mildly amused at the beef between Ja Rule and new rap phenom 50 Cent, partially because beef in Hip-Hop is so played out and largely because I don t see much difference between the two adversaries. While 50 Ferrari charges that Ja isn t real (whatever real happens to be at the moment), he uses the fact that he was shot nine times and his hard upbringing as some kind of street bravado proof that he is in fact the real deal. While 50 does get my condolences for being the victim of that utterly heinous crime he is little more than an average rapper, with average flow, average...

By now, most everyone knows the story of Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent. A former drug hustler in Queens, NY, 50 escaped the drug game and went into rapping, making his name on various underground recordings, most especially the underground hit "How to Rob", where he described how he was going to mug many of the top rappers in the game. He scored a record deal with Columbia, and recorded the album Power of the Dollar, to release in 2000. However, before the release of his debut, 50 was shot 9 times, in either a retaliation for "How to Rob" or someone involved in 50's drug-laden past..

I'm tempted to give this 4.5 stars rounded to 5, but that judgment'll come later. As plenty of people know, 50 Cent is one of the most popular and despised figures in hip hop today -- which isn't contradictory like it sounds, considering this happens all the time in the genre. Simply put, he became an immediate pop sensation with incredibly catchy singles ("In da Club," "21 Questions.") That, combined with the fact that he's a gangsta rapper, predictably made him one of the most hated new artists within devout hip-hop circles. Now, I think it's perfectly legitimate to criticize 50 Cent (like..