Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank y’all for comin out tonight. It’s my third album, third tour, third time’s a charm,” Third album, true. Third tour, true. Third time’s a charm, not so much for 50 Cent’s newest album “Curtis.” Instead, 50’s usual cocky music is just as, if not more disappointing as rival Kanye West’s newest album “Graduation.”
Besides the over-hyped and fictional rivalry between 50 Cent and Kanye West, “Curtis” has not been advertised to the extent of “Graduation.” Moreover, the Kanye West bandwagon has suddenly doubled, tripled and quadrupled while 50’s fans are nowhere to be found. Either way, both 50 Cent and Kanye West’s fans should accept that these artists have not delivered to their fullest capabilities.
As for “Curtis” in particular, there are still a few tracks that are somewhat descent. “I’ll Still Kill” featuring Akon, “Follow My Lead” featuring Robin Thicke, “Fire” featuring Nicole Scherzinger, “All of Me” featuring Mary J. Blige and of course the radio favorite “Ayo Technology” featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland fall among that list. See a pattern? The extremely admired and trendy featured artists add the extra ammo 50 Cent lacks on his solo tracks.
“Amusement Park” and “Straight to the Bank,” which are undoubtedly the worst solo tracks on the album are either unoriginal or just plain out too boring. Listening to 50 Cent’s voice is reason enough to believe that he is not putting in any effort.
The passion 50 Cent had in his most successful album, which made “In Da Club” and “P.I.M.P” the most played songs of the time, has magically disappeared. In its place, 50 Cent has created an album that does have pretty tight beats (thanks to the talented Dr. Dre) but fails to provide the lyrical greatness to make it a hit.
The artist who based his previous album on the motto “Get Rich Or Die Tryin'” is singing a new tune nowadays. In the fifth track, “I Get Money,” 50 Cent raps, “I’m stanky rich. I’m gonna die tryna spend this shit.” The truth is, he is wealthy and is not overly worried about the success of this album, or else he would have worked a little harder to make it enjoyable. With his various successful business endeavors including his G-Unit clothing line, 50 is more than aware that his name alone can make his money for him.
This is probably the reason 50 Cent is so willing to make a bet against Kanye West and possibly quit his solo career. If there were ever an intention to retire from rapping, this would be the best way to do so financially. When rap artist Jay Z retired his solo career, he only became more involved in the music industry and continues to collect a pretty penny as a featured artist as well as the CEO/President of Def Jam Records. So maybe 50 Cent and Kanye West are sitting at a club somewhere, sipping on alcoholic drinks and congratulating each other on a job well done.
Either way, 50 Cent has failed the few fans he has left. It’s definitely a sad day when the best track on a “hardcore” rap artist features still not gangsta-enough pop prince Justin Timberlake.
This so-called beef is a cheap way to sell over-priced records. 50 Cent, Kanye West and their record labels are not stupid for creating a commercialized rivalry, but the audience is stupid for buying into it-literally. Here’s a bit of advice, do not purchase either album and save the money for a rap artist who does not need a P.R. stunt to sell music.
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