Get Rich or Die Tryin' holds a 16% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based upon 117 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "While it may be based upon 50 Cent's own life experiences, Get Rich or Die Tryin' is too similar to many other rags-to-riches stories to resonate."[6] Radio Times criticized the film, saying that "as a vehicle for hip-hop superstar Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, this [film] runs out of gas a fair few kilometres short", giving it a "could be worse" rating of 2/5 stars.[2] CinePassion stated that "[Jim] Sheridan's surface vividness is applied around a vacuum."[7]
50 Cent Get Rich Or Die Tryin So
Jonathan Ross gave a positive review, calling Get Rich or Die Tryin' "gripping" and suggesting that it had "excellent performances".[10] Roger Ebert also praised the film, giving the film a 3 out of 4 rating and saying that it was "a film with a rich and convincing texture, a drama with power and anger".[11]
His second single, "In da Club", was the first of seven tracks 50 Cent recorded in five days with Dr. Dre. Eminem was featured on two songs, "Patiently Waiting" and "Don't Push Me". His songs also featured rappers within G-Unit such as Lloyd Banks ("Don't Push Me"), Tony Yayo ("Like My Style"), or Young Buck ("Blood Hound"). The next single, "21 Questions", was not in line to be on the album, according to 50 cent, who stated that Dr. Dre did not want the song on the album. According to 50 Cent, "Dre was, like, 'How you goin' to be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?'"[5] 50 Cent responded saying, "I'm two people. I've always had to be two people since I was a kid, to get by. To me that's not diversity, it's necessity."[5] "Back Down" was an instrumental originally composed by Dr. Dre. It was originally intended to be used on Rakim's debut Aftermath album, Oh My God, but due to creative differences was not released. Early pressings of Get Rich or Die Tryin' included a limited edition bonus DVD.
It was January 2003. In the world of music, Michael Jackson had only recently dangled his nine-month-old son over the balcony of a Berlin hotel room, Fergie had just joined The Black Eyed Peas, and Ja Rule and Nelly were the kingpins of the rap scene.
"It was a very organic thing," said Waldman. "I think the imagery shows him as the warrior that he was, like he was really prepared to get rich or die trying, and you shouldn't mess with him because he won't stop trying."
"I think that's why the album took the world by storm because the energy of it all was just perfect," Waldman added. "He kind of came out with this bible that said, 'I'm on the block now. I'm not in hiding anymore, I'm not selling mixtapes out of my trunk anymore. This is 50, and I'm going to get rich or die trying.'
Within months of the release of Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent had made good on his promise. Not only did the Southside Jamaica, Queens, MC get rich -- he lived to tell the story 10 years later when he sat down with us. Fif broke down the classic album, track by track, for MTV News' cameras (click the video). And we break down a few key songs with 50's help below.
On the desperate "Gotta Make It to Heaven," 50 sounded so close to the Promised Land he could taste it, even if he wasn't yet fully removed from the perils of the streets. And it was that push and pull that inspired the album title. "When I say 'get rich or die tryin', it could have very easily been the die tryin' part," he said.
Of course the odds against a young drug dealer eventually selling 4 million copies of an album are so high that, by comparison, getting into the NBA is a sure thing. A more accurate title might have been, "I Got Rich But Just About Everybody Else Died Tryin', and So Did I, Almost." Given the harrowing conditions of his early life, Jackson's movie dwells on it with a strange affection; the movie is closer in tone to "Scarface" than to "Hustle & Flow," the year's other rags-to-riches rap story.
Still, I must review the movie, not offer counseling to Curtis Jackson. "Get Rich" is a film with a rich and convincing texture, a drama with power and anger. It shows its young hero taken in by grandparents who love him (Viola Davis and Sullivan Walker) after the death of his mother, and then being lured by the streets because, quite simply, he wants money for athletic shoes and, eventually, a car. There seem to be few other avenues of employment open to him, certainly none that he seeks, and although his mother tried to shield him from her business, he saw what happened and how it worked and he knows who the players are.
Early scenes in his career involve turf wars. The question of who sells drugs on what corner is sometimes settled by death. Meanwhile, the customers, many of them whites from the suburbs, roll up in their cars and subsidize these deaths, one purchase at a time. Although the movies have accustomed us to associate drug dealers with briefcases filled with cash, the movie provides a more realistic job description: "All you get out there is long lonely nights." And "If you would add up all the time spent standing around, it was minimum wage. If you added prison time, it was below minimum wage." The lie in the movie's title is that you get rich. Someone gets rich, yes, but then someone wins the lottery every week.
Still, 50 just isn't quite there yet. Had he offered more tracks that showcased his talents quite as tangibly as "How to Rob (An Industry Nigga)" alongside the massive radio hits bumping from every inner-city Escalade, Get Rich or Die Tryin' very well might have been the landmark achievement it's being touted as. But as his character presently lacks the dynamism and depth required for that elusive gangsta magnetism that's a prerequisite for notoriety, 50 goes down as simply a decent MC with a wrenching back story, whose potential landed him a gig with the world's dopest beatmakers and the hype machine that shot the Great White Way into the pop culture stratosphere.
50 Cent :: Get Rich or Die Tryin'Label: Shady/Aftermath/Interscope RecordsAuthor: Steve 'Flash' JuonEven the 10-10-220 commercials say it - what can you get for just a dollar? Now split that. Come up the hard way like Curtis Jackson did; trying to make a dollar out of fifty cents. He hustled in Queens to survive, yet ironically his burgeoning fame as a rap artist may have overexposed his dirt on the street and almost cost him his life in May of 2000 when he was shot nine times. It's hard to say whether this hurt as much though as being dropped from a major label deal by Columbia Records, right as his "Power of the Dollar" debut was about to hit stores. Either way, in his 26 years on this planet, the aspiring rapper has had more ups and downs than your favorite Coney Island ride. No one would have blamed him for cashing in his two bits, and getting out of the rap game permanently.They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger though, and for 50 Cent that's literally true. After making the rounds of New York's mix tape circuit and garnering enough money and credibility to independently release an LP entitled (appropriately enough) "Guess Who's Back," Jackson was approached by numerous record labels and rap factions eager to ink the unsigned rapper to a deal. In what might seem like poetic justice to some after once being shunned by Columbia, 50 flipped them all the bird and inked a deal with Eminem's imprint Shady Records. Having been put on by Dr. Dre after years of struggling in the underground, one could even say the oft-criticized white rapper had repaid the debt in kind. To date the relationship has been a good one - raising 50's profile in the mainstream and getting his song "Wanksta" from the 8 Mile movie soundtrack into heavy rotation coast to coast.50 has not been resting on these laurels. In fact, to feed an ever larger and hungrier audience he's been releasing a slew of underground albums that feature him and his G-Unit click; albums with titles like "No Mercy, No Fear" and "50 Cent is the Future." Amazingly enough he was recording a debut album for Shady Records at the same time, the aptly titled "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." Truly blessed with a work ethic second to none, 50's prodigious output may even exceed Nasir Jones and Shawn Carter for most rap songs in a 12 month span. And there's no doubt the two of them are on his mind on "High All the Time":"There's no competition, it's just me50 Cent motherfucker I'm hot on these streetsIf David could go against Goliath with a stoneI could go at Nas and Jigga, both for the throne"Where his previous independent releases had been filled with his wit and style but occasionally lacked in beats, this mistake has been rectified by his linking with Shady Records - which naturally results in his being tied into Aftermath as well. Dr. Dre's big thumbprint can be seen all over this release, from his production on 50's current single and party anthem "In Da Club" to his "clak clak gun-clap" beat on "Heat" and the pounding piano chords of "If I Can't" among others. The latter showcases his determination to make it by any means, and even includes a lil' tribute to the old school:"Now Peter Piper picked peppers, and Run rocked rhymesThat 50 Cent'll write a little bit, but I pop ninesI tell niggaz get they money right, cause I got mineWhen I'm around quit playin nigga, you can't shineYou gon' be that next chump, to end up in the trunkAfter bein hit by the pump - is that what you want?Be EASSSSSY nigga, I lay your ass outBe-LIEEEVE me nigga, that's what I'm about"The rapper even shows a penchant for occasionally busting his hooks and lines in a sung delivery, not unlike his label CEO. And just like him, 50 would never win a Grammy for best solo male vocalist, but he doesn't hurt the ears like Guru did on "Brainstorm" or Biz Markie does on.. well, anything. So when 50 croons "I don't know what you heard about me, but a bitch can't get a dollar out of me [...] I'm a motherfucking P.I.M.P." on Denaun Porter's track of the same name, you won't hate. No love is lost at hearing him open the Eminem produced "Patiently Waiting" either:"I've been patiently waiting for a track to explode onYou can stunt if you want and yo' ass'll get rolled onIt feels like my flow's been hot for so longIf you thinkin I'ma fuckin fall off, you so wrong"Eminem wasn't content to just do the track though - he had to jump on the beat with his newest recruit croon a little himself. The sounds of a breathing tube and heart monitor sync perfectly with his track at his introduction, punctuating his delivery as well as his words and showing that he keeps getting better at all three:"You've been patiently waiting to make it through all the hatinDebatin whether or not you can even weather the stormAs you lay on the table they operatin to save youIt's like an angel came to you sent from the heavens above.. *flatline*"The best treat is yet to come though, hearing 50's pleasantly musical flow on "21 Questions" be accompanied by none other than the king of rap hooks himself - Nate D-O-Double-G. Don't think that 50 forgot to rap though, or that his own prowess on the streets and trash talking are his only subjects. This song slyly asks what many men would like the answer to - girl, will you stay down with me no matter what? He searches long and hard to find the truth:"If I got locked up and sentenced to a quarter centurycould I count on you to be there to support me mentally?If I went back to a hooptie from a Benz;would you poof, and disappear, like some of my friends?If I was hit and I was hurt would you be by my side?If it was time to put in work would you be down to ride?I get out and peel a nigga cap, then chill and driveI'm askin questions to find out how you feel insideIf I ain't rap cause I flipped burgers at Burger KingWould you be ashamed to tell your friends you feelin me?"Even thugs need love, and 50 isn't ashamed to tell you how he feels no matter what the topic is. For those who have missed out on why 50 is so popular now, his stark honesty in lines like "Some say I'm paranoid I say I'm careful how I choose my friends; I've been to ICU once I ain't goin again" from "Gotta Make it to Heaven" play a part. It's also his sense of fun, a certain reckless abandon that may only come from having already brushed so closely with death; the attitude you can hear on songs like the bonus track "Life's on the Line":"These cats always escape reality when they rhymeThat's why they write about bricks and only dealt wit dimesLeave it to them, and they say they got a fast carNASCAR, truck wit a crash barAnd TV's in the dash, paSee 'em in the five wit stock rims - I just laugh, paI catch stunts when I ain't tryin, I ain't lyinI sip Dom P 'til I split up, keep my wrists lit upGet outta line, I get you hit up (wooooo!)Now if you say my name in your rhyme, you better watch what you say"Whether produced by the well known names of Eminem and Dr. Dre's clique, or lesser knowns like Rob Tewlow and SixFigga on "What Up Gangsta" and "Many Men (Wish Death)" respectively, the album is very solid musically. Onle a few tracks really lack. "Blood Hound" has an electronic beat that makes progressive steps down in the background behind bars that's really boring over several minutes - duhhhh, duhhhh, duhhhh, duhhhh - over and over. Rockwilder's "Like My Style" seems to be trying a little too hard to be jiggy, and is not typical of the banging beats he makes for Redman. Eminem's "Don't Push Me" is decent; just not exceptional. It's hard to complain when these are spread out over 19 tracks, with only the "Intro" not qualifying as an actual song. If you already knew 50 Cent from back in the days when his comical "How to Rob" made a sensation in the rap world, or heard any of his underground albums in 2002, the best of what he did before has been distilled and purified into a thorough CD. For those who don't already know him but have heard "Wanksta" or "In Da Club" this album will undoubtedly be more than they expected, but also a window into the eyes of a man whom even 9 shots couldn't hold down for long. 50 Cent IS the future.Music Vibes: 9 of 10Lyric Vibes: 8 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 8.5 of 10Originally posted: February 11, 2003source: www.RapReviews.comif (typeof(gnm_ord)=='undefined') gnm_ord=Math.random()*10000000000000000; if (typeof(gnm_tile) == 'undefined') gnm_tile=1;document.write(''); 2ff7e9595c
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