#TOPTENTUESDAY: 50 CENT
The Lampin' Blog presents Top 10 Tuesday. On certain Tuesdays we bring you our favorite 10 tracks from one of our favorite music artists. Enjoy.
(Intro from Büsh)
Before the Vitamin Water commercials, Kanye "beef," subpar acting gigs, and bankruptcy filing, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was the rawest mainstream artist rap had seen since Ice Cube. With a hypnotic voice, sensational ad-libs, and uncanny knack for writing hooks, it was no secret as to why Fiddy gained so much success in the early-mid 2000's (not to mention one of the greatest laughs hip-hop has ever seen).
If you went outside on a summer day in 2003, chances were you heard at least 5 cars bumping "In Da Club" with the windows down. 50 was without a doubt the biggest rapper in the game, and continued to enjoy that title following the 2005 release of The Massacre.
Unfortunately, after the release of his third studio album Curtis, the 50 that we knew and loved disappeared. He had shockingly lost a highly publicized and hyped record sales battle to Kanye West's Graduation, and all of a sudden 50's trademark sound became a thing of the past. The rap game was moving forward, and 50 was a giant stuck in his tracks.
While 50's fall may have been as fast as his meteoric rise, he still produced some of the best music in the 2000's, and to this day Get Rich or Die Tryin' remains one of the greatest debut albums of all time. With that in mind, here is Nev's #TopTenTuesday featuring the one and only 50 Cent.
10. "Just A Lil Bit" - The Massacre
As a 5th grader, the heavy sexual overtones went straight over my head. All i saw was this video of 50, swagged out in some exotic tropical location with three bad pieces on his arm. I thought to myself, “yes, this is very cool. I support this.” To this day I have never found myself in anywhere near a similar situation, but I’m still a young man. I have also not taken nine like 50, and for that I am overjoyed.
9. "Outta Control (Remix)" - The Massacre
The ultimate feel-good 50 track. This song can make you smile and head bob after sitting in traffic for two hours after a trip to the dentist. Havoc and Prodigy of Mobb Deep both provide some extra flavor on a flawless Dre beat.
8. "Many Men (Wish Death)" - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
This is Bump-with-the-windows-down-riding-shotgun-with-my-dad-after-soccer-practice music. Just wishing a motherf*****r would.
“Death gotta be easy cuz life is hard” deeply resonated with me for whatever reason. This is surrounding the dark period of me not having an Xbox360 when most of my friends did, so I guess that’s the reason.
7. "Window Shopper" - Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Motion Picture Soundtrack
50 describes to a T my consumer behavior profile: see something I like, check the price tag, hold back a grimace, put said item back down neatly in place, look around to see if the store employees were watching, and resume my “just looking around” mode while silently wishing I had 50 Cent money (pre-bankruptcy).
6. "Patiently Waiting" - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
I think that if 50 got to know me, I would be in consideration for his favorite white boy, but Eminem is a good placeholder. More relevantly, however, this song is hard as shit. Some of 50’s other songs that involve .45’s, gangs, etc. feel somewhat forced and you kinda know that he’s talking out of his ass, but not this one. Heavily aided by Eminem’s verse, this song may not be one of strictly 50’s classics, but come on, Em’s verse….
5. "Hate It or Love It" - The Documentary (Game)
If someone were to ask me which song best showcased 50’s talents, this is the track I’d show them. Every time I listen to 50’s opening verse, I feel a deep, visceral pain when we learn of 50’s stolen bike. Often, I will sort of drift off for the entirety of the first chorus, just pondering the duality of man, and how we can commit such atrocious acts upon one another. If little Curtis wants a sheepskin coat and a gold rope, who are we to stand in his way? Anyways, this song came out at arguably the peak of The Game’s popularity, and The Documentary remains his second best album (the Documentary 2 tops it).
4. "Disco Inferno" - The Massacre
The first 50 Cent track I ever heard. I was so young when I first heard this song that my friend David and I counted all the cuss words in it.
“Homie I don’t dance all I do is this: it’s the two-step with a lil twist” is what I try to remind myself to stick to when confronted with a dancing situation, only to be overcome with illusions of my choreographical genius.
3. "21 Questions" - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
RIP NATE DOGG.
I still can’t let go. On this one, 50 reveals a softer side and his doubts when it comes to a girl’s devotion to him. Far from a “Candy Shop” or “Just A Lil’ Bit”, this is one you would slightly turn down if your mom came into the room, rather than scramble to pause with the two aforementioned songs.
2. "If I Can’t" - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
I really wanted to put this as my number one, but I feel like it would be almost snobbish to not have “In Da Club” as my top dog. The clean-up hitter on my high school team walked up to this song, and it was, in a word, wet. The kid hit maybe .300 his senior year, but it was enough to earn a scholarship to ASU.
Coincidence? Nah, this song convinced scouts the kid could flat-out play. This song is the blueprint for 50-Dre collabs. Dre’s classic piano sounds mixed with 50 singing about champagne bottles on the chorus. Beautiful.
1. "In Da Club" - Get Rich or Die Tryin'
What can I say about this song that hasn’t been said already? One could argue that this song single-handedly shaped the next five years of rap music. Garnering umpteen awards and high praise from literally everyone you or I have ever met, this one goes down as one of my all-time favorites.
One of mine and Büsh’s teammates in college walked out to this song as a pitcher, and I would get absolutely hyped while simultaneously looking into the fearful faces of the other team. While he hovered around 80 MPH, his warm-up pitches would look like 100. He was great too, and how could you not be with this banger playing in your head?
For what it's worth, Büsh's picks:
10. "When It Rains It Pours" - GRODT - The Soundtrack
9. "Disco Inferno" - The Massacre
8. "Heat" - GRODT
7. "Straight to the Bank" - Curtis
6.. "If I Can't" - GRODT
5. "Outta Control (Remix)" - The Massacre
4. "Hate it or Love it/How We Do" - The Documentary (Game)
3. "21 Questions" - GRODT
2. "Many Men (Wish Death)" - GRODT
1. "In Da Club" - GRODT
And there you have it. Week two of #TopTenTuesday in the books. Be on the lookout for the next one, and feel free to tweet us your (inferior) opinions.