Get Rich or Die Tryin’

I wasn’t expecting to like this. This era of rap generally isn’t my thing. But something about this ended up being very enjoyable. It just flows and is fun. Also there were quite a few songs that I recognized without ever having realized they were by 50 Cent before

A few great tracks ("In da Club" and "PIMP" are two of the best rap hits of the 2000s) and some great guest spots lend this a few notches of strength over its contemporaries, but its excessive length really dullens its effect.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll pretty easily bump up to a 5.

It took a little bit for me to adjust to 50 Cent’s more deliberate flow early on in this album, just because I’m not as used to his style, but once it clicked, it all felt pretty good. Even in his spoken word approach at times, he’s just got a voice tailormade for rap beats & a natural cadence that glides on any beat you can give him. He sounds great & he sounds authoritative, giving a lot of credence to the “I will pop a cap in your ass, I promise” attitude that permeates the entire album.

If there’s any obvious complaint about the album, it’s that 50 Cent just acts like way too much of a hardass at times that makes his real experience feel too much like a caricature. This man is constantly on somebody’s ass about shooting them with a TEC or a .9, and it’s a well he goes back to way too often. “Blood Hound” is the first one that started to really bite at me, and after that, both “Like My Style” & “Poor Lil Rich” felt a bit too braggadocious for my tastes. I thought the beat was weird on the former & I just don’t think 50 Cent plays the rich guy role too well on the latter. He feels far too materialistic. When Biggie did it on “Juicy”, he kept a humble perspective that humanized him a bit.

If anything, that’s my biggest complaint here; I don’t think 50 Cent really humanizes himself enough past the gun-toting man on a mission to get rich or die trying. The closest the album gets to showing his lighter side are on “In Da Club”, “P.I.M.P.” & “21 Questions”, all of which were obviously the biggest hits. “Many Men” is up there too, and it rules because it spells out his mission in a way that makes you want to root for him. There’s just some tracks that feel a bit over the top in a way that still shine through sheer charisma & talent alone (along with great beats), but I wish he got just a bit more vulnerable. Even when he tries just a bit on “Gotta Make It To Heaven”, it just kinda disappointed me as an album closer.

All of that said, I still think this is pretty damn good. I’m easily bumping it up to a 5 because it’s that enjoyable, and the tracks that didn’t bite at me feel like a barrage of hits. If you trimmed this album to just those, or if you replaced those with the trio of bonus tracks, it would be even better than it already is. I hope nobody drops “Don’t Push Me” though; that should’ve been a big hit. Overall, I’m glad I finally listened to this in full, and while it didn’t blow me away as much as I was hoping, I feel like this is still an essential piece to early 2000s hip-hop. Only a madman would come in & take shots at Nas & Jay-Z on a debut album right after they traded bombs, and that’s just how 50 Cent operates. I admire the audacity, even if it manifests in ways that feel like parody at times. When it doesn’t though, it fucking rules. Hence, a 4.5 bumped up to a 5.

Reminds me of Biggie's debut. You got the pop/R&B hooks and the grimy verses. Within the context of this challenge, this just feels like a retread of past albums. This record feels like the commercial peak of gangsta rap (3-3.5).

Being 11 when 50 cent came to our tellies upside performing in da club, he was exciting, fresh and the hype that was spoken about seems true.
The released track of this album (many men, pimp, 21 questions and if I can’t) are great and all sound great today.
The rest of the album? Let’s be honest, it’s crap. 50 cents voice monotone voice is dull at best and when paired with tracks with sound licks that are incredibly basic that resemble they’ve polyphonic ring tones mobile phones used to have at this time, the album becomes very grating.

“Gotta make it to heaven” is a prime example of this.

Not sure why I ever read other reviews when there's a black artist to listen to. I never learn and am disappointed every time. Some of you folks sound like the backward commenters who stalk the major news sites to shout to the rest about how poorly your mind works.

50 has a killer flow and great beats. Heat, in particular, had a clever one, and also was pretty disturbing. For me, very few rappers pick beats that integrate so well into their flow, or conversely, adapt their flow to dovetail so well into their beats. Excellent musicianship.

50 also does a great job of picking guests for verses on his tracks. Everyone slides into the thematic and stylistic feel of the song so well. I often criticize rappers for doing an entire album talking about how much of a badass they are, and while 50 does that to a substantial degree here, I don't care at all because he's so good at it.

This was my first listen to this album in its entirety, but absolutely will not be the last.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not terrible, but not really hitting me either.
In Da Club is a fun song, the Eminem track is probably my favorite.

I am not a huge fan of 50's vocals here. He tends to slur his words and has a kinda sloppy flow. Some songs are worse that others for this.

Overall, it's a decent album.

nije mi ovo repništvo baš sjelo, premda je sam album vjerojatno objektivno dosta dobar. eminem na par pjesama ne pomaže dojmu, naprotiv

While slightly dated, it is for great reason that it was labelled as one of the greatest debut albums of all time. As perhaps the clearest example there is to Gangsta Rap, it offers a collection of formulaic bangers which are made interesting by his braggadocio.

7/10 [KEEP]

50 Cent zu viel für einen ehrelosen Gangsta

Nice, classique. I know whole 2 songs!

Halfway through this I was thinking to myself "what does this album offer that hasn't been done before by other hip hop albums?" And I couldn't come up with a good answer.

Usually with hip hop albums as well, I'll find some enjoyment from the instrumentals, but there was something about these that I just couldn't get behind. Maybe it's that early 2000s sound I don't like.

Favorite track(s): What Up Gangsta, Patiently Waiting, Many Men (Wish Death), In da Club, If I Can't, P.I.M.P., 21 Questions, Life's on the Line

I'm tired, boss

I can hear the talent in this. I’m sure there are plenty of owls who think it’s great. It’s just not my jam. A bit too harsh for me. I did like High all the Time. A few other tracks had me bopping along, but overall the lyrics weren’t for me and there wasn’t enough musically to compensate for that.

the heat music video is peak ngl

Really solid production and such - not my usual thing and a bit negative for me, but I appreciate it musically.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is an album that falls into a very similar camp that Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle falls into being that the production is great but the lyrics, not so much. I have of course been aware of this album mainly because it is one of the best selling hip hop albums of all time (13th best selling to be exact) so i definitely expected a fair lot from it. However, while the production was absolutely fantastic with it being catchy and hard-hitting. The lyrics aren't all that great. They are a little better than the album mentioned above but seem to rely far to much on just dropping the n-bomb over and over. Real shame too because if the lyrics were better, it could have been a 4 or possibly even a 5 star album but that just refused to happen.
Best Song: In Da Club
Worst Song: Wanksta

Kinda good, kinda terrible.

Another one that might have got another star if it wasn't so long. It really just drug on until I went from enjoying it to waiting for it to be over.