50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin'

One of the most hyped hip-hop debuts ever, and what were we to expect? The second coming of Snoop Dogg? In a sense, the comparison is apt. The Dr. Dre brand of gangsta rap can sometimes be steeped in talking lots and saying not much. On this album, though, 50 Cent isn't quite the test audience-neutered version we know now. He's still streamlined by the standards of gangsta rap (I mean, compared to Ice Cube... not compared to Snoop Dogg of the 00s), but he's determined. He's slightly gritty, and his lyrics alternate between clever boasts and witty jokes. He hangs with Eminem on two tracks, and while 50's rhymes aren't quite as inventive or rapid, he shows that he has enough charisma to keep him afloat. As for the beats, if Only Built 4 Cuban Lynx recalls The Godfather, consider Get Rich... to be Heat: more 'splodey, less meaty, still good. It's surprisingly varied, too, with the strings backing "In Da Club" seeming at peace with the steel drums on "P.I.M.P." It's shallow, sure, but Get Rich of Die Tryin' is the sound of 50 Cent mining gold from a shallow river.