David Tesic
A&E Assistant
50 Cent has been all over the place musically, but it has been a long time since he went solo. After releasing “Get Rich or Die Tryin” in 2003, he teamed up with G-Unit and released “Beg for Mercy” later that year. Then he promoted each G-Unit member individually and just two months ago he released The Game’s debut album. Now, after more than two years, he’s back with a solo release titled “The Massacre.”
I don’t know why people like 50 Cent so much, because I find him very monotone and uncreative. Almost every song on this album sounds the same. There are only a few songs that actually caught my attention and two of them are already singles.
The beat in “Piggy Bank” was produced, by Needlz, is totally complete. It has an impressive drum-line, a banging bass-line and a cool melody that echoes the bass-line. The chorus is catchy, but the track has been controversial because 50 dissed guest rappers Fat Joe and Jadakiss in Ja Rule’s song “New York.”
50 Cent must enjoy having beef with fellow rappers, because he started off his career by doing a song with Bad Boy Record’s Mad Rapper in which he dissed many talented rappers. Perhaps that is why he has all those bullet wounds on his body, but he must not have learned his lesson yet.
Fat Joe and Jadakiss have been around much longer than 50 Cent, and they are much more talented than him. 50 Cent might not be aware of it yet, but he will lose fans due to these comments because a lot of D-Block and Terror Squad fans are also G-Unit fans. But even if some of his fan base may leave, it looks like he will still be quite successful as “The Massacre” sold 1.1 million copies in just one week.
The next song that caught my attention was “Candy Shop” with R&Bs newest diva, Olivia. It’s something of a sequel to Lil’ Kim’s “Magic Stick,” but Olivia adds an extra dose of sexuality to the theme. “Candy Shop” was produced by none other than Scott Storch himself.
There’s just something about Storch’s beats that make them magical. He is probably the biggest thing to happen to hip-hop production since Dr. Dre. Not only is the beat banging, but the chorus is also very simple and catchy. “Candy Shop” is a definite candidate for the best song of the year.
One of the best beats is heard on “Get In My Car” produced by Hi-Tek. I like Hi-Tek’s beats, and I’m really glad he finally got a break into the mainstream hip-hop industry.
The next catchy song on this album was chosen to be the first single. Yes, it’s “Disco Inferno.” You are probably already sick of it since it was a big radio hit for a long time, and it received tons of airtime, but this song deserved it. The lyrics are inventive, and the beat nearly guarantees that every DJ will play it in the clubs because it forces you to get up and dance, or at least nod your head if nothing else.
The rest of the album, however, is pretty boring. But if you are a 50 Cent fan you won’t be too disappointed. What can you expect from a guy who has three songs in the Top 5? Perhaps it took him such a long time to make those three songs that it didn’t leave him with much time to craft the rest of the album. I hope other rappers won’t follow his bad example, because that would be the end of true hip-hop.
03-17-2005
