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Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

All the ugly gangsta lies are here, especially as regards the brutalization of women and the business of death. But they're incidental to the mood of the piece, which is friendly, relaxed, good-humored, and in the groove.

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New Musical Express

There's a new depth to the murderous lyricism here that discounts any possibility he's renounced violence. [12 Mar 2005, p.58]

Blender

He represents gangsta rap's evolution into pure entertainment. [May 2005, p.116]

Rolling Stone

Not all of Massacre is as immediately catchy as Get Rich, but it's close.

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The New York Times

It is a collection of stark but sly threats and come-ons, nearly as addictive as its predecessor. [3 Mar 2005]

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PopMatters

The beats are captivating, the choruses memorable, the skits kept to a minimum, and, most importantly, the rapping deft, inventive, and full of surprises.

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RapReviews.com

"The Massacre" is still a fine follow-up to his last full length release, and despite a few miscues avoids letting down his fanbase.

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Village Voice

It is hands-down the most diabolically sensous collection of baby-making gangsta music since Pac's All Eyez.

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Los Angeles Times

A joyride of an album that's as fun as it is familiar. [2 Mar 2005, p.E2]

E! Online

Fortunately, Fiddy's rhymes are a riot, and Dr. Dre's production is as golden as ever.

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All Music Guide

At worst, it feels unfinished, and at best, it feels like a mixtape cobbled together from mostly choice tracks but without that overseer's polish.

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Pitchfork

The Massacre's best tracks have 50 dropping club-clatter and gangster lean to show us the mind behind the six-pack, gat, and Teflon.

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Vibe

A taut, albeit less explosive, album. [Apr 2005, p.166]

Stylus Magazine

The pandering that characterizes the first half of the album leaves no hint of the hidden gems that follow.

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Entertainment Weekly

The new songs (and subject) aren't as absorbing as the old. [11 Mar 2005, p.101]

Spin

This time around he's tryin' too hard to be everything to everybody. [Apr 2005, p.97]

Uncut

Not even tight productions from Eminem and Dre can stop things from flagging midway. [May 2005, p.95]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

But while its flaws are formidable, so are its strengths, beginning with Cent's dark charisma, belligerent sneer of a voice, fluid delivery, and mastery of hip-hop style

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Billboard

Sadly, the album is reminiscent of everything he has already done.

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cokemachineglow

[50's] rhymes are as stupid as ever.

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Q Magazine

Not a wholly convincing return. [May 2005, p.110]

Austin Chronicle

Representing the devolution of civilized man, 50 Cent pitifully uses the excuse of a deranged society to stoop even lower into a perpetual chest-thumping nightmare of unbridled greed, misogyny, and black-on-black crime.

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New York Magazine

The Massacre is as frustratingly uneven as Get Rich or Die Tryin’, but it’s longer and messier.

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Dot Music

A stunningly bad record.

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The Guardian

With nothing musically fresh, attention is focused on [50] himself. Bad idea.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

It's pretty much all the same synth leads, bang-bang beats, and tired rhymes as every other Aftermath related project since The Eminem Show, which wasn't that great either.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 4.8 (out of 10) based on 204 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dan A gave it a5:
The Massacre is produced better than 50's debut album. However the problem is that 50 is at his worst more consistently than he was on GRODT and even Beg For Mercy. There are two songs that need to be downloaded from this album, and the rest can go to the landfill. A Baltimore Love Thing is a great track where 50 raps a solid lyrical performance combined with great production through the perspective of not a drug abuser, but the drug itself. Build You Up features Jamie Foxx and has the pizazz that 50 tries to capture on most of his love songs, but this one is actually the real deal.

fafa dfa gave it a0:
Brutal. Just Brutal. V. Ice could rap circles around fiddy.

Mark Twain gave it a3:
No, this album really does suck. The only part that is redeemable are the beats.

Brannon M gave it an8:
The beats interest me more than Get rich at this point. G-unit is full of female oriented beats now, which needs to stop, but for all the candy shop like songs he releases he's still hot fire.

Quiinton D gave it a4:
Love the beats, and thug style!!!!!!!!!!!!! "I'll break it down for you now, baby it's simple If you be a nympho, I'll be a nympho." -50 Cent ("Candy Shop") Well, what do you expect from an artist whose stage moniker in itself constitutes a grammatical mishap? Well....some people make music about getting out the vote, what it must have been like to have born out of fetus, black nationalism and pride, the problem of greed and corruption, crime in the city, and about telling people to stop the violence in the cities, but hey, let's just pimp it up, because gangsters drink wine and martinis in clubs, and living in the ghetto has no crime, right? Wrong! Pick up any other CD, N.W.A., Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, they all talk about the realities of living in poverty and the decisions people make in their daily lives regarding it. This CD seems to sidestep and devoid themselves of just about all issues, and for party listeners, they'll like it because they can tune out the lyrics and hear the nice Dre beats, with the style in the background. It's not for real hip hop heads because we like to listen to our lyrics, but that concept is foreign to the mainstream public. They'd react with on college and high school campuses: Hip-hop with message, what? This is exactly what's wrong with hip-hop today, that today's generation now believes that hip-hop cannot be insightful, although it can be, and has been early on and at various moments through time, and still can be. In a lyrical sense, it kind of is dead because no one cares about the poetic aspect of it anywhere, and they just want to get their crunk on and their dollars. But that's just fine with the public, they all brush the good stuff to the side for party music anyways.

Jorge V. gave it a0:
It's a shame that lyrical prowess is a lost art. It's like people don't even know their history about hip-hop, nor do they care. I was at a Run-DMC concert, and they asked a crowd what their first single was. All people said was just 'Walk this Way.' People disbelieved that it wasn't, and when Run DMC themselves said it was a different song, called It's Like That...And that's the way it is, people were shocked and astonished at their lack of Run DMC expertise, which all too much appeared to be controlled by MTV. Pick up a Geto Boys album, or an Outkast album, Doggystyle, or a Rakim album, and they all had more lyrical content this album ever had. Well, say you like this song for the beats and style. But for lyrics? No way. This isn't clever nor is it poetic. In a sense, it isn't really bashing, but just plain, flat out honesty of one man's opinion. Does this album have good beats? Yes. The producer is Dr. Dre, and he always has good beats. But would 50 survive on beats of a mediocre producer, if given more mellower and less bouncy beats through lyricism? Probably not, but all he's done is rap from Dre's production. From a lyrical standpoint, he's lowered our IQ of the mainstream completely. Kanye West, the Roots, Common, they speak from the soul. For 50 cent, he doesn't rap about real stuff on the albums, so it doesn't count for anything, and so it's just all a money grab for him, but that's the mainstream, taking advantage that we don't know any better.

DeQuan O. gave it a0:
There are no redeeming qualities whatsoever on this album. This is the perfect example of what's wrong with today's musical landscape. If this album sells more than 1 copy (which it already has), then someone has lost a fight somewhere. I'm not offended by violence, language or pretty much anything else. I am offended by this album however, based purely on how awful it is. 50 raps about nothing but the most standard elements, violence, drugs, hos and money. This can be done very well and very creatively, in the right hands. Pick up either Big L album for violence done well. Pick up a Necro album if you want extreme violence done well. Do not pick up this album. Spend five minutes on the internet searching for another album. Think for yourself, please. Tthere is so much music available today that you should NOT have to resort to this. You're already on this site, scan the left side of the screen and click on a link that's got a star next to it. I'm preaching, I know. People should be able to listen to what they like, and I understand this. I can guarentee you however, if you spend five minutes with the internet looking for a better album, you will enjoy it much more than this trash. Listen to Piggy Bank. He's laughing at you. He's taking your money all the way to the bank and spending it on things you will never be able to afford if you saved for your entire life. Do not help 50 cent get another chain, he doesn't need it. The real star is the production by Dre, too bad the lyrical content is severely lacking. If he has any semblance of talent, it is not shown on this album, especially on songs like Candy Shop or the Magic Stick.

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