#280 50 Cent, 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' (2003)

New Entry

I had just started working at a CD store when this album came out. It was one of our biggest sellers, as well one of the most stolen albums of 2003. How big you’re wondering? The album would go on to sell 9x platinum in the States, 4x Platinum in the UK, 3x Platinum in Aus and so on. It features his breakthrough hit, ‘In Da Club,’ a song that we would hear multiple times  a night in da clubs. I. Hate. That. Song. It’s not just that I heard it thousands of times in 2003 alone, it’s just stupid. “You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub/Look, mami, I got the X, if you into takin' drugs/I'm into havin' sex, I ain't into makin' love/So come give me a hug, if you into getting rubbed.” Poetry it is not. Fiddy had been blackballed by the music industry after having been dropped by Columbia Records after famously having been shot 9 times. No one would sign him, that is, no one other than Eminem. The album sold 872k copies in the first week alone.

This is the first time I’ve listened to the record since hearing it so many times in the CD store (it would get shut down by management everytime). This time I listened with a more open mind. ‘What Up Gangsta’ is fun, ‘Patiently Waiting’ actually has great flow from both Fiddy and Eminem. My favourite part of that song, and probably the record is his impersonation of Snoop Dogg towards the end of the song. ‘Many Men (Wish Death)’ the third single was also played to death. ‘High All The Time’ – who cares, dude? ‘P.I.M.P.’ is actually a fun song and other one that dominated music in 2003. Nate Dogg’s appearance on ’21 Questions’ is a great feature on the record. So, ultimately? I don’t need this record in my life. It does have a small handful of fun classics, but not enough to turn me into a fan. I saw Fiddy live in 2019, and he was actually fun to watch. I guess I’ve softened on him in the past few years, but really don’t ever see myself being a fan.

#rs500albums