50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”
The right album for the right moment
I was born in 1992 — the year before Dr. Dre’s The Chronic began ruling the airwaves. I was four when Pac died; five when Biggie was killed. If, as some claim, the Golden Era of hip-hop coincides with the decade prior to these tragedies, then I can’t claim any memories of this special period. I came of age during Eminem’s and Nelly’s explosion into the mainstream in the early 2000s.
I recall the heated discussions concerning Eminem had out on the playground — if 8-year-olds giving each other their hot takes can ascend to the level of a discussion, that is.
Despite my early awareness of Eminem and Nelly, my real infatuation with hip-hop began with 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
I’ll never forget the album cover — the way it was equally parts terrifying, intriguing, and fun. Though 50 certainly didn’t intend it this way, the cover hearkens back to an album just as rugged, Black Flag’s Damaged.
The album title is even better — a caption-worthy proclamation in the pre-social media days. Those of us familiar with 50’s background were aware the title was no exaggeration.
The lead single, “In Da Club,” remains one of the most successful tracks of all time at straddling the fence between hip hop acceptance and heavy mainstream rotation. The rest of the album is filled with raw but accessible rap anthems. It was hardly a surprise that it did so well.
So 50 was the first rapper I saw blow up. Fourteen years later, despite no longer being relevant — though not for lack of trying — 50 remains a formational figure for millennial rap listeners the world over.
Run D.M.C.’s commercial breakthrough showed rap’s mainstream viability. N.W.A.’s breakthrough demonstrated it wasn’t just “graffiti and breakdance” hip-hop that could find a way through, but certifiably angry, gangsta rap — hip-hop of a grittier, grimier variety — could sell out stadiums and put out platinum records.
Ever since, hip-hop artists with a potential for dual citizenship have oscillated between the two approaches. And the rap game itself has gone back and forth between the two styles.
The Notorious B.I.G. had “Juicy” on the same album as “Gimme the Loot”; “Hypnotize” on the same album as “Notorious Thugs.” When Biggie was tragically gunned down, a few months after 2pac suffered the same fate, Puff Daddy struck gold with radio-friendly tribute tracks.
Yet his street-level attempts — trying to get Mase to tap into his “Murda Mase” roots on certain tracks; signing The Lox, a gansta-ish outfit led by street-favorite Jadakiss; and inserting the odd hardcore track into Bad Boy releases — didn’t quite pan out.
Over at Def Jam, DMX was finding lots of success by projecting a rabid, growling, unleashed style of hardcore rap (with the occasional prayer interlude — you know, for forgiveness — thrown in). But DMX’s crossover appeal was limited.
Jay Z was carrying the torch for a while but came to easily outgrow the streets.
What was missing was a rapper who could appeal to both styles simultaneously. Hip-hop needed a shot of adrenaline.
In 2003, if you were to construct a rapper in a lab, with the sole intent of revitalizing hip-hop along these lines, you’d implement these characteristics:
- storybook, cred-legitimating upbringing (mixing the violent past of the Wu-Tang Clan, the street mentality of Nas, and the drug-dealing background of Jay Z)
- mainstream-ready charisma (think Eazy-E) while maintaining an intimidating presence (think DMX)
- distinctive, radio-friendly voice that at the same time doesn’t convey softness (think Snoop, Biggie)
And to top it off, you’d provide top shelf production.
The result you’d get, and the rapper hip-hop got, was 50 Cent. An artist capable, like those of old, of dropping “In Da Club” on the same album as “Many Men.”
With the help of Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Interscope Records head, Jimmy Iovine, 50 Cent released Get Rich or Die Tryin’, capitalizing on his mythical rags-to-riches story.
“In Da Club” was the worldwide smash — number one on the Billboard 100. The second single was “21 Questions,” a track displaying 50’s “softer side,” and it also went top of the charts. “PIMP,” the album’s third single, peaked at number 3. Finally, “If I Can’t” didn’t do as well as the prior three singles — going as high as tenth on the charts — yet here’s the amazing thing: it was put out a full year after Get Rich initially dropped.
These days, rap albums don’t retain that sort of appeal across such a long period of time.
One of 50’s strengths was utilizing the music video to great effect.
Beginning with a shot of a Hummer H1 (remember those?) cruising down a secluded road in the middle of the desert, we move to a laboratory inhabited by Eminem and Dr. Dre.
Go, go, go, go, go, go
Go shorty, it’s your birthday
We gonna party like it’s your birthday
We gonna sip Bacardi like it’s your birthday
And you know we don’t give a fuck it’s not your birthday
The two ended up creating a beast, didn’t they?
