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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Curtis
by 50 Cent
The rapper's first album in two years includes appearances by Eminem, Justin Timberlake, and Mary J. Blige and production from Timbaland and Dr. Dre.
| LABEL: |
Aftermath |
| RELEASE DATE: |
11 September 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rap |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
80
The New York Times
Curtis seems surprisingly modest. The album is neither as contagious as "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" (apparently it's possible to have an entire album stuck in your head) nor as devious as "The Massacre."
75
RapReviews.com
It's a solid performance, that is both better and worse than it could have been.
75
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
What the two boil down to is that a parvenu mastering pop music for money has turned into a made man running on vanity. I find that this renders his expert trivialization of murder and such rather less piquant, and I think he does too--that an audacious formal delight has become routine.
70
Lost At Sea
Nothing on Curtis is great, but everything is listenable or better.
70
PopMatters
It's a solidly above-average rap record, featuring a generous handful of very likeable songs and only two unqualified duds.
70
All Music Guide
In the end, Curtis is entertaining but only impressive in that 50 can run in place and still be on top.
70
Rolling Stone
The I-need-love pop tunes are not getting any better, even with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake in the stripper ditty 'AYO Technology.' 'Follow My Lead” is an inexplicable Robin Thicke duet and 'Amusement Park' is even sillier. Much better is 'All of Me,' with Mary J. Blige. Wailing, "I got a feeling like I'm fiending on crack," Blige steals the show without even trying.
70
Village Voice
Curtis is stuffed with tightly wound 21st-century pop songwriting, full of that invisible craft and flow that renders a thing eminently listenable even if it's gratuitously raunchy, politically reprehensible, and sexually retrograde.
67
Entertainment Weekly
In the end, Curtis is nothing more than a competent corporate product. [21 Sep 2007, p.84]
60
Urb
It's unfortunate that "Interscope Jackson" spends so much time here trying to ply believable tough talk--highlights arrive when Fiddy embraces his current, lavish lifestyle.
60
Billboard
Though the album is good, for an artist of 50 Cent's caliber, it's not great.
60
Sputnikmusic
'My Gun' is one of the best tracks Fifty's lent his name to; Adam Deitch and Eric Krasno's skilful production keeps the tension bubbling just below the surface with a muted hard rock guitar riff; 50's rhyme and flow is more varied and expressive than his usual monotone drawl.... The remainder of the album is as inconsistent as Fifty’s career to date.
50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
He's still capable of cranking out a great single and the occasional clever verse, but he's yet to master the art of making a satisfying album rather than delivering a random assortment of demographic-pandering tracks.
49
Pitchfork
50's new album is a blatant rehash--a bottom-line sequel that insults the same audience it mindlessly panders to.
45
Prefix Magazine
What's missing where these lame boasts exist in Curtis is the vulnerability of moments on The Massacre (especially 'A Baltimore Love Thing') or any of the rich narrative that graced his first album, not to mention any of the goofy, sing-along catchiness that previously made his singles chart events. Musically 50's collaborators don't feel like they've brought anything near their best to the table.
40
NOW Magazine
50 is back with his larger-than-life persona and even bigger Mack 11, remaking his classic first album for the second time, with tiresome results.
40
Dot Music
Curtis doesn't sound like it was much fun to make, and it isn't much fun to listen to.
40
Hot Press
Shooting people, no-strings-attached sex and being a millionaire has never sounded so boring.
33
Stylus Magazine
There isn’t an ounce of life in Curtis.
30
Slant Magazine
50 doesn't fare any better on the softer side: 'Amusement Park' proves he's one of the worst lyricists alive.... It's not just the metaphors, though, it's the execution.
30
Austin Chronicle
50 sounds redundant.
20
No Ripcord
A 55-minute mess called Curtis, undoubtedly one of this year’s worst releases.
The average user rating for this album is 3.0 (out of 10) based on 147 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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