He wants money from women and nothing else, making that cold sentiment irrepressibly catchy over Mr. You can hear the former on “P.I.M.P.”, where he plays the decades-old role of ice-hearted mack. Listen to certain portions of his catalog and it seems he’s only moved by money and retribution. The latter is Zapp’s “Computer Love” reimagined for the strip club with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.ĥ0 Cent As Lover (Candy Shop, Just a Lil Bit, P.I.M.P., 21 Questions, Best Friend)ĥ0 Cent contains multitudes. On 2007’s Curtis, 50 dropped two more club hits: “I Get Money” and “Ayo Technology.” On the former, he reminds you of the historic Vitamin Water sale that made him a multi-millionaire and flaunts his lifelong wealth. On 2005’s “Disco Inferno,” 50 devoted the hook to twerking, but he spends as much time reminding you of his market-tested approach to singles (“The flow sound sick over Dre drums, n-a / I ain’t stupid, I say Doc then my doe come quicker”). As long as 50 isn’t talking to you, of course, you feel comfortable dancing.Īfter Get Rich or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent continued his club dominance for years. (It’s the same formula that made Nelly’s “Country Grammar” work.) The instrumental softens the fact that, between sexual conquests, 50 is threatening adversaries with a 9-millimeter, a Beretta, an AK, and an AR-15. The beat for “Wanksta” sounds like a chromed-out ice cream truck, nostalgia for popsicle-promising music reworked to make it bang in Jeeps and rooftop bars. “Wanksta” originally appeared on the G-Unit mixtape No Mercy, No Fear, but it hit the Billboard Hot 100 when it was re-released on the 8-Mile soundtrack. In the midst of his post-Columbia mixtape era, 50 began polishing his gritty thug past for the charts. Blessed with an ear for big, anthemic beats, 50 Cent possessed a gift for writing pop rap, riding the beat with simple yet memorable verses and infectious hooks. He made songs for the folks that demanded bottle service, and those dancing near those tables.
Yet his music blared from club speakers constantly for much of the early 00s. 50 Cent In The Club (Wanksta, In Da Club, Disco Inferno, I Get Money, Ayo Technology)ĥ0 Cent likely spent more time in the studio and the gym than the club. Listen to the best of 50 Cent on Apple Music and Spotify, and scroll down for our introduction. This introduction to 50 Cent’s best songs offers an insight into what made him so special. But even if each subsequent album brought diminishing chart returns, there have always been flashes of what made 50 Cent one of the best street rappers to ever come out of New York. In short, it’s one of the most versatile debut rap albums you’ll ever hear.ĥ0 Cent followed his Shady/Aftermath debut with two more platinum albums, The Massacre and Curtis. It’s resonant and slick, East Coast but with an almost Southern lilt. He asked the ladies “21 Questions.” The lyrics were clever, but never too clever. Even though he didn’t smoke, he made “High All the Time.” He made club hits that still sounded gangster (“In Da Club”) and dramatized his nearly fatal shooting (“Many Men”). More importantly, every song has a theme or intended audience.
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ had five charting singles. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was his entrance music.įrom the opening sound of two quarters hitting the table until the end of the record, it was clear that 50 studied music as well as he’d studied the streets. 50 called himself “King of New York” on his mixtapes, but signing with Em and Dre was his true rap coronation.
No rapper and producer held more sway at that moment. At the time, this partnership was the equivalent of being drafted number one to a championship-winning team. Dre (Aftermath Entertainment) for a new debut.
After his recovery, 50 gifted bodegas and bootleggers with a torrent of G-Unit mixtapes and brokered a deal with Eminem (Shady Records) and Dr.