50 Cent

50 Cent

Telling the same tired tale of street hustler turned MC superstar, 50 Cent's formulaic Get Rich or Die Tryin' adds another chapter to the novel of tough times/Top 40 hip-pop. Unlike unscathed storytellers, 50 is the real-deal product of crack peddling -- a true menace to society, complete with stab scars and bullet holes. Motivated only by Benjamins, we catch this gritty gangsta in a period of idle between current cartel plots yet always ready to get back into the game. He "made a mil on the deal and is still on the grind." Now making hits, 50 is the perfect antagonist for a lurid narrative starring the synthesized soundtrack of platinum producers Dr. Dre and Eminem. All he has to do is translate his true-life tales, through lockjawed hums and whines, over a catalog of tracks that addresses every popular trend. The outcome is as natural as John Gotti singing Sinatra. On "Blood Hound," the NYC MC tries out his quick South-side flow, a must have. "Many Men" is a Machiavellian mockery, a "me against the world" hymn for the haters, and "21 Questions" allows his rarely seen sensitive side to be drawn out by the all-area code pimp Nate Dogg, for the ladies of course, and success is sealed by the hits "In da Club" and "Wanksta." He sums it up simply: "Peter Piper picked peppers, and Run rocked rhymes; I'm 50 Cent; I write a little, but I pop nines."