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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 222 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Interscope / Aftermath
Release Date: 06 February 2003
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rap
Summary
If you're even reading this, you most likely already know the life story of Queens' Curtis Jackson (aka 50 Cent), whose first attempt at rap stardom in the mid 1990s ended in a brutal attack that almost cost him his life. In recent years, however, 50 Cent was lucky enough to hook up with Eminem (who signed him) and producer Dr. Dre, which resulted in a track on the 8 Mile soundtrack and now this, his much-anticipated first full-length release.
Also By This Artist: Curtis The Massacre
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
MUSIC: G-Unit: Beg For Mercy
GAMES: 50 Cent: Bulletproof (PS2) 50 Cent: Bulletproof (XBOX)
What The Critics Said
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...
Playlouder
It's all good. Favourites switch with listens, and we can assure you that this record will remain on your deck all year.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
If this combination of big-name backers, undeniable skills, radio-ready tracks and a marketable thug persona make Get Rich or Die Tryin' a sure-shot smash hit, it also makes it a great record.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Get Rich isn't quite the masterpiece 50 seems capable of, impressive or not. But until he drops that truly jaw-dropping album -- which you know he will -- this will certainly do.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
His rap style isn't as distinctive as Ja Rule or DMX, but as the singalong Many Men (Wish Death) shows, with Eminem on his team, there's no stopping him. [May 2003, p.98]
Stylus Magazine
The variety and talent this album offers is enough to recommend it to almost any rap fan.
Read Full Review >Blender
Even at their most nihilistic, these 16 songs resonate melodically, like Eminem's most haunting material. [#15, p.118]
Entertainment Weekly
As reality-based as the words may be, we've heard variations on these themes before, and 50, far from being the world's most nimble rhymer, doesn't always infuse them with new power.
Read Full Review >Billboard
Unfortunately, this disc's positives don't add up to a great album: Plenty of boilerplate g-funk thuggery serves as filler.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
50 Cent's skills are better suited to the nagging digi-loops of inevitable smash single 'In Da Club', the steel drum roll-out of 'P.I.M.P.' and '21 Questions' - perhaps the track most like something that you might have found Tupac or Biggie at work on in their prime.
Read Full Review >Launch.com
Most of these rhymes are too shallow to warrant the hopeful comparisons to Biggie and Tupac. But if you want the best disposable gangsta tunes on the market, 50 Cent offers a definite bargain.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
For all the flaws in 50 Cent's persona, Get Rich or Die Tryin' isn't without its redeeming qualities.
Read Full Review >Amazon.com
Sure, Get Rich could never have lived up to the hype, it’s nowhere near Biggie's Ready to Die or Nas's Illmatic, but there's no fast-forward material here, a near miracle in these times.
Read Full Review >E! Online
Unless you are the president of the NRA or addicted to Cops-type tales, 50 Cent's debut is strictly small change.
Read Full Review >Uncut
[An] unapologetic throwback to straight-assed songs about guns, girls and drugs. [May 2003, p.109]
New York Magazine
Without question, 50 Cent has one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop: He raps in a molasses-slow, beyond-laconic drawl, and chants in a singsongy patois reminiscent of dance-hall stars like Sean Paul. But there isn’t enough invention in the rhymes, and, worse, barely any humor.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Only intermittently justifies the buzz surrounding the rapper's career.
Read Full Review >Mojo
It's impressive, but heavy going, with scant trace of 50's acerbic humour. [Apr 2003, p.114]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 222 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nick A. gave it a10:
C'mon man... This record is hot...
Neil L. gave it a10:
It is very rare that I put a disc into my player without skipping a single track.
Dan A. gave it a6:
Every moment 50 spends hitting new ground, he spends two more losing it. Songs like P.I.M.P. ask for praising him with no reason or justification why. It's like he thinks he's the shit just because two big names are behind him. Aside from a handful of tracks the production feels like stuff Em and Dre tosses aside because they couldn't work with it. 50's lyricism is comparable to that of Cam'Ron or Ja Rule, but he ends up appealing because of his thug gimmick.
Mike M. gave it a10:
This is the most solid cd i have heard, Very rarely do i put a cd in and actually listen to every song without having to skip one. One of my top 3 albums of all time. Look out for Detox, September 2007. Same time as 50's new album: Curtis
corey m. gave it a1:
50 cent 1 what kind of names that two it the worst music ever der who the hell want to hear that shit fuck you
Ramzeeze B gave it a10:
One of the best of all time!
Brannon M gave it a9:
He's not pac or big, but who cares. The beats on this album make it a classic, and he is a talented lyricist even if the gangsta themes are repetitive. Underrated artist, fuck haters.
