10/02/07 - 50 Cent's Curtis shallow attempt at profundity

MURDAGAME · 10-02-2007, 10:44 PM

Hip-hop mainstay 50 Cent returns with his newly released studio album, Curtis, a travesty of an album that is only held together by a few mediocre beats.

With the extreme commercial success of his first two albums, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)and The Massacre (2005), 50 Cent used his birth name as the title of what he calls his most personal album to date.

With confidence in Curtis and his musical prowess, 50 Cent challenged fellow rapper Kanye West, who released his new album, Graduation, on the same day as Curtis, to a sales battle. 50 Cent said aid that if he lost, he would retire from rap forever.

After the first week of sales, 50 Cent lost the battle by a whopping 266,000 albums according to Nielson SoundScan. Hopefully the American public has wised up and will stop buying what 50 Cent claims to be hip-hop.

The album's first three tracks all revolve around the same common theme: guns. By the end of the track "I'll Still Kill," it gets old. The beat is no better, an annoying synthesizer over a drum beat that sounds like it was made on Apple's Garage Band. Most successful hip-hop artists who rap about guns and murder can so because they talk about it with ease.

Without a central producer, most of the beats on Curtis sound disconnected and don't flow from one track to the next. The best beats on the album are created by Havoc, half of the legendary hip-hop duo Mobb Deep. However, he only gets two beats on the CD, saving "Fully Loaded Clip" and "Curtis 187" from 50 Cent's poor beats.

If the entirety of Curtis were produced by Havoc or Jake One, another competent producer who only gets two songs on the album, then Curtis actually could have been a halfway decent album.

Like most rap albums in the past five years, Curtis is laced with heavy synthesizer, annoying bells and recycled samples.

Curtis isn't all bad though, just mostly. There are a few amusing songs, in particular "I Get Money" and "Straight to the Bank," simply because they are the only songs on the CD with any kind of meaning.

"Straight to the Bank" is chorus-heavy, and has uninspiring rhymes and a surprisingly original and creative beat, but that's not the important part of the song.

The chorus, which repeats "I'm laughing straight to the bank with this" and incessant laughter that sounds more like a middle-school girl's instant-messenger conversation read aloud than a rap chorus. This is the only important part of the song, strictly because it's true.

50 Cent can do whatever he wants and still make money, and that's all he cares about. This is made painstakingly clear with one flip through the booklet inside of the CD cover. Between the pages of 50 Cent eating a handgun with a knife and fork and straddling a half naked woman, there are advertisements for all of his business ventures, including but not limited to, Vitamin Water, Pontiac and Reebok.

Curtis is not about creativity, as the album cover may indicate, with a stressed, angry or maybe just confused 50 Cent with his hands on his head and his brow furrowed.

Curtis is about making money, and is the only rational explanation for the travesty that Fiddy calls a hip-hop album. If 50 Cent stays true to his word he will soon be a distant memory in the heads of hip-hop fans and sports-drink lovers alike.

crazyk420 · 10-02-2007, 10:59 PM

good read but i dont agree to certain remarks. overall its an aiiite album not this best.

Mr. Tennessee · 10-10-2007, 01:57 PM

well i just hope before i self destruct will be the next maga banger

Jesseflash · 10-11-2007, 07:47 AM

Attention all UK hip hop fans!

This Sunday the Daily Star newspaper will be giving away a totally free 7 track studio album by Grandmaster Flash. Including all the hits, 'White Lines', 'The Message', 'It's Nasty' etc, etc.

this will be a rare collectors piece, and no true hip hop fan's record collection should be without it!

If you're not based in the UK, get someone who is to grab hold of one for you! Spread the word...

sammie · 10-13-2007, 06:44 AM

He's getting progressively worse

10-02-2007, 10:44 PM	#1
MURDAGAME Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: California Posts: 233 Repped: 13 Repped 180 Times in 15 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	10/02/07 - 50 Cent's Curtis shallow attempt at profundity 10/02/07 - 50 Cent's Curtis shallow attempt at profundity Hip-hop mainstay 50 Cent returns with his newly released studio album, Curtis, a travesty of an album that is only held together by a few mediocre beats. With the extreme commercial success of his first two albums, Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003)and The Massacre (2005), 50 Cent used his birth name as the title of what he calls his most personal album to date. With confidence in Curtis and his musical prowess, 50 Cent challenged fellow rapper Kanye West, who released his new album, Graduation, on the same day as Curtis, to a sales battle. 50 Cent said aid that if he lost, he would retire from rap forever. After the first week of sales, 50 Cent lost the battle by a whopping 266,000 albums according to Nielson SoundScan. Hopefully the American public has wised up and will stop buying what 50 Cent claims to be hip-hop. The album's first three tracks all revolve around the same common theme: guns. By the end of the track "I'll Still Kill," it gets old. The beat is no better, an annoying synthesizer over a drum beat that sounds like it was made on Apple's Garage Band. Most successful hip-hop artists who rap about guns and murder can so because they talk about it with ease. Without a central producer, most of the beats on Curtis sound disconnected and don't flow from one track to the next. The best beats on the album are created by Havoc, half of the legendary hip-hop duo Mobb Deep. However, he only gets two beats on the CD, saving "Fully Loaded Clip" and "Curtis 187" from 50 Cent's poor beats. If the entirety of Curtis were produced by Havoc or Jake One, another competent producer who only gets two songs on the album, then Curtis actually could have been a halfway decent album. Like most rap albums in the past five years, Curtis is laced with heavy synthesizer, annoying bells and recycled samples. Curtis isn't all bad though, just mostly. There are a few amusing songs, in particular "I Get Money" and "Straight to the Bank," simply because they are the only songs on the CD with any kind of meaning. "Straight to the Bank" is chorus-heavy, and has uninspiring rhymes and a surprisingly original and creative beat, but that's not the important part of the song. The chorus, which repeats "I'm laughing straight to the bank with this" and incessant laughter that sounds more like a middle-school girl's instant-messenger conversation read aloud than a rap chorus. This is the only important part of the song, strictly because it's true. 50 Cent can do whatever he wants and still make money, and that's all he cares about. This is made painstakingly clear with one flip through the booklet inside of the CD cover. Between the pages of 50 Cent eating a handgun with a knife and fork and straddling a half naked woman, there are advertisements for all of his business ventures, including but not limited to, Vitamin Water, Pontiac and Reebok. Curtis is not about creativity, as the album cover may indicate, with a stressed, angry or maybe just confused 50 Cent with his hands on his head and his brow furrowed. Curtis is about making money, and is the only rational explanation for the travesty that Fiddy calls a hip-hop album. If 50 Cent stays true to his word he will soon be a distant memory in the heads of hip-hop fans and sports-drink lovers alike.

10-10-2007, 01:57 PM	#3
Mr. Tennessee Banned Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: South Side Germany Posts: 66 Repped: 5 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	well i just hope before i self destruct will be the next maga banger __________________

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10-02-2007, 10:59 PM	#2
crazyk420 Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 828 Repped: 114 Repped 3 Times in 3 Posts Neg Reps: 2 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	good read but i dont agree to certain remarks. overall its an aiiite album not this best.

10-11-2007, 07:47 AM	#4
Jesseflash Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: London Posts: 8 Repped: 0 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Attention all UK hip hop fans! This Sunday the Daily Star newspaper will be giving away a totally free 7 track studio album by Grandmaster Flash. Including all the hits, 'White Lines', 'The Message', 'It's Nasty' etc, etc. this will be a rare collectors piece, and no true hip hop fan's record collection should be without it! If you're not based in the UK, get someone who is to grab hold of one for you! Spread the word...

10-13-2007, 06:44 AM	#5
sammie Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Cali Posts: 77 Repped: 37 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	He's getting progressively worse