Get Rich or Die Tryin'

by

50 Cent

Edit

I remember back when this album came out, everybody loved it. I mean, even the rockers liked a few songs on this album. But then, after about a year and a half of GRODT being out, every started sippin on the G Unit haterade, and all the sudden 50 Cent is hated by many people. I checked on this cd on Amazon back when about 750 reviews were written, and it had 5 stars! Now, after 50's Massacre, people decide that they don't like GRODT either (Only 3.5 stars), after selling 11 million records. You can say what you want about The Massacre, but anybody who knows what their talking about knows that GRODT is a very hot album and is an example of how good a rapper 50 was during his underground stage, back when he was the best underground rapper alive. (If you haven't heard his mixtapes, you should, they are great, 50's flow is explosive and fast). This was 50 before the haterade, and he really exploits his talents on this cd. Most of the songs on here are very gritty, gangsta, and gutter, the way 50 should have it, not pop records. His lyrics are actually pretty good (the best you can get from a Jamaica Queens gangster) and like I said his flow is much better than in the Massacre. The beats are the biggest thing on the album though, Dr Dre put out his best beats for 50, and anybody who appreciates rap music will love the beats on this album, they are crazy good! Some of the best songs, other than the singles, because you've probably heard a few of them before are Patiently Waiting, Many Men, High All the Time, If I Can't, and Back Down. It's a shame I had to spend half of the review explaining why 50 had only 3.5 stars, but just remember, those are just Gunit hater freaks giving it 1 star and only writng 2 lines just to be idiots. Don't get me wrong, 50 has plenty of fans, but some jealous ones had to envy. There was a time, when GRODT was on top and if you buy it you will know why. It was gangsta rap at it's finest and 50 when he was a really hot rapper. So, as I said before, this was 50 at his best when everybody loved him, before the haterade was passed around. You will love this album if you get it, the beats are off the chain-crazy and you will like every song, it's definitely one of the best albums of 2003 if not the best.

The moment 50 broke into the scene with "Wanksta" (Ja Rule Diss). He immediately became the "next big thing"...then news broke out that his album would be dropping. February then came, and the album was released.

The question is: Should We Believe The Hype?

Well, you should and you shouldn't. 50 Cent has excellant production, but he has failed to have done anything ground breaking or new. Now, don't get me wrong, i COMPLETELY respect how he got into the game, but most of the subjects he talks about have already been done. Also, they're are many tracks that weren't added to the album. Where was "The Realest" & "In The Hood" ? They were high quality, yet i don't find them anywhere else except on bootleg cds

But, Don't worry, there are some good tracks. "Many Men" is a song about life. 50 Cent isn't everybody's best friend, and he knows it. It's your basic "i'll get you before you get me" scanario. "In Da Club", although is played out, talks about...well...being in the club. Its a track of 50 Boasting of what he has, what he does, and what he can do. "If I Can't" is a track of "i could do it better than you can"...nothing new, although the beat is hot! "What Up Gangsta" is like a lil anthem, short but good. "Wanksta", one of 3 bonus tracks, is the famous (but not known throughly) as the Ja Rule Diss. Its catchy i admit that, but doesn't show the full potential of 50 Cent. "21 Question" is probably one of the better & decent tracks...lyric-wise. Its a change from the "i'm better than you" personna since it talks about fame & love. "Blood Hound" has a nice flow, nice rhymes, nice beat, one of the better songs...

With the good, comes the bad. "Patiently Waiting" is one of the most overhyped tracks. Just because Eminem's name is near "featuring" doesn't guarentee it as a classic. People assume too much and hype up too much medium quality stuff. While Eminem does have a good verse, its still not enough to bring this song up where it needs to be. People, Stop Frontin!!!...well...i'm not even gonna get into that. The song is mediocre, but the world treats it as if it was a classic...please. "Like My Style" sounds very rushed, incomplete, since the hook sounds a lil bit off sync with the beat. Also, only almost all of the songs, 50 Cent attempts going vocal. Face it, that seems to be the trend these days, rappers that sing. I'll admit, sometimes it does flow nicely...but other times, he tends to just repeat the title of the song...and thats it...no effort at all. Why do rappers keep singing?! I Still don't understand that.

If your looking for some tracks laced with nice beats (thx to dr. dre), this is the album your probably looking for. Has good rhymes, not great, but good enough to flow with the beats nicely (in most cases). 50 Cent can come off arrogant at times...but thats just how he is. This album is definantly not bad, but i can't say its a classic. 50 Cent has the production down, but he still needs to work on those rhymes, since his rhymes seem shallow & once again, arrogant-sounding. On "Patiently Waiting", he says quote "When I Die, They'll Read This And Say A Genius Wrote It"...highly doubtful. I mean, i'll admit, 50 Cent does know how to make hits...but this makes him seem more like P. Diddy rather than Tupac, Biggie, Rakim, or Nas...

[Beats 90/100] - Strong point of album

[Lyrics 80/100] - I've heard better

[Creativity 75/100] - Lots of Repeating

[Flow 90/100] - I'll admit they're catchy

[Overall 80/100] - Its good...but not THAT good. He shouldn't have rushed it... He probably got a little hype over the success of "Wanksta"