A lot of hip-hop artists have entered the game with plenty of fanfare, also known as buzz, but nobody in the history of the genre has ever had a bigger buzz than 50 Cent. If you’re a hip-hop head and you didn’t live through it, no article could encapsulate the sheer excitement that surrounded the release of Curtis Jackson’s classic opus, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The album was a culmination of nine gunshot wounds, a takeover of the entire mixtape game, and a partnership with two of the biggest stars in hip-hop, Eminem and Dr. Dre. While the world eagerly awaited 50’s debut, Funkmaster Flex continuously dropped bombs over any track that had 50’s voice on it especially the catchy “Wanksta”. When the radio friendly dropped “In Da Club” the buzz grew even larger. February 3, 2003 arrived and seven days later the verdict was in, 872,000 copies sold. 50 had lived up to the hype. It was well deserved as the album was nearly flawless, the first true gangsta rap album the game had seen in years. Add to that 50’s knack for writing some of the catchiest hooks hip-hop has ever seen and Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was destined for its future commercial success. Always the businessman, 50 Cent made sure to cater to the clubs, the radio, and the ladies with songs like “21 Questions”,” In Da Club”, “P.I.M.P”, and “If I Can’t”. The hardcore tracks were the anchor of this album given 50’s backstory. The fact that the bulk of the production was handled by Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Sha Money XL made the album very hard hitting. “Patiently Waiting” produced by and featuring Eminem saw 50 getting introspective with lines like, “I sit and politic with passengers from nine eleven/ The Lord’s blessings leave me lyrically inclined/ Shit, I ain’t even got to try to shine”. Eminem jumped in to drop a mind boggling verse making the track that much more venomous. “Many Men”, possibly the strongest track on the album, finds 50 filling in some gaps about the attempt on his life. Over the somewhat melancholy beat 50 spits bars like, “Hommo shot me/ Three weeks later he got shot down/ Now it’s clear that I’m here for a real reason/ ‘Cause he got hit like I got hit but he ain’t fuckin’ breathin’”. “Heat” is another fan favorite and took hardcore hip-hop to another level. Produced by Dr. Dre the beat is the sound of a gun being cocked and shot repeatedly. 50 won gangsta points on this record chanting the hook, “I do what I gotta do/ I don’t care if I get caught/ The DA could play this motherfuckin’ tape in court/ I’ll kill you, I ain’t playin'”. The onslaught kept coming with “Back Down”, 50’s most prominent dis towards his long time enemy Ja Rule. 50 went at everything from Ja’s kids, to his sexuality, and everything in between with scathing lines like, “Any livin’ thing that cannot co-exist with the kid must cease existin’/ Little nigga now listen/ Yo mami, yo papi, that bitch you chasin’/ Them little dirty ass kids, I’ll fuckin’ erase ’em/ Success is not enough/ You wanna be hard/ Knowin’ that you get knocked, you gettin’ fucked in the yard”. The album is rounded out with tracks like “High All The Time” and “Don’t Push Me” featuring Lloyd Banks and Eminem. Many attribute the success of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ to good timing, a great backstory, and a host of other things. The bottom line is that the album didn’t have a bad track on it. In 2003, artists were already starting to focus on singles alone but 50 crafted a 17 track album without a single misstep. And that is why over ten years and ten million copies sold later; this album is still a classic by anybody’s standards. No album since has had as much impact and we can attribute that to 50 Cent’s greatest strength, an uncanny knowledge of song structure which gives him the ability to very rarely make bad music. Put 50’s debut against any other classic debut in the history of hip-hop and Get Rich or Die Tryin’ will often come out on top.
Article By: Jon DaBove
