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50 Cent - CurtisAlbum Review by:
John Burnett
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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It’s ironic that Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson’s third album was once named Until I Self Destruct. Over a three to four month period, it seemed as if the G-Unit general and his camp were imploding right before the world’s eyes. 50 Cent had already released “Straight to the Bank” and “Amusement Park” and the critics had already pre-destined his third effort, now named Curtis, to be a brick. Then, he drops his breakout club smash “I Get Money,” Kanye West changes his album release date to September 11th to match 50’s, and now the whole world is anxiously waiting to see who wins this epic clash of rap’s elite; not to mention 50 upped the ante by stating that he’d retire if Kanye West’s album outsold his. So a lot is at stake with Curtis; money, pride and the future of a clique. This could very well be the beginning of the end for 50 Cent and G-Unit or just a continuance of his stranglehold on album sales in the rap game.
The majority of Curtis mirrors the formula in both sound and structure that was used on The Massacre. Similar to his sophomore effort, there is a selection of his grittier street anthems and a score of TRL-friendly crossover hits on Curtis. “Follow My Lead” has 50 pairing with recent R&B mainstay, Robin Thicke, for a more suave, refined effort. Fiddy ditches the pimp persona to rhyme about shopping sprees and jet-setting with a loved one just long enough to appease the opposite sex, but quickly returns to his typical candid speech with “I ain’t lookin’ for commitment we can fuck and be friends/matter of fact we can do it right in back of my Benz/I get it done with speed.” While “Follow My Lead” seems apt for a dim bedroom, “My Gun” evokes a grimier depiction that conjures up images of ski-masks, cocked handguns and bullets whizzing through the air. Adam Deitrich (jazz drummer) and Eric Krasno handle the guitar-driven production while 50 seems intent on proving that although he’s rich now, he’ll still fire his gun if he has to. The murderous mood continues on “I’ll Still Kill” featuring the ubiquitous Akon, but once again 50’s lyrics come off as uninspired gun talk and the clever and witty wordplay that fans are used to is missing. “Ayo Technology” featuring Justin Timberlake provides a nice transition back to the mainstream. Timbaland who’s on the boards for this effort, provides a masterful track that intertwines videogame blips with strong drum patterns. 50 picks up the tempo on his flow for this one to describe a female he admires from afar thinking about what physical interaction between the two would be like. “Ayo Technology” because of its strong bounce certainly has club appeal and will see heavy radio airplay. Curtis then snatches you from the club and tosses you back in the streets with “Fully Loaded Clip.” On the track 50 raps “You want a problem with me, no problem it’s all good/I ain’t fresh out the hood, I’m still in the hood” which alludes to the fact that 50 will not, despite his obvious affluence, allow you to forget he’s from the slums of Southside Queens, which is the main flaw of Curtis.
At this point in his career, 50 Cent no longer needs street credibility and a lot of the tracks seem to be vying for just that. Half of this album is squandered on tracks that overwhelm the listener with gun bravado and murderous threats and said tracks are presented in a fashion that’s hardly new or engaging. What is evident more than ever on Curtis is that 50 Cent is able to make hit songs; hits that are going to appeal to a wide range of radio stations and request shows like 106 & Park and Total Request Live. Tracks like “I Get Money,” “Follow My Lead,” “Fire,” and “Ayo Technology” make this album thoroughly entertaining while the trite material on “My Gun,” “Man Down,” and “I’ll Still Kill” could have been omitted. Overall, Curtis is a testament to 50 Cent’s consistency but also to his reservation to grow.
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