Get Back Or Die Tryin'?

“I haven’t been this fucking confused since I was a kid; sold like 40 million records, people forgot what I did” 

When 50 Cent made that claim on 2012’s “My Life”, it seemed like a silly comment. After all, 50 Cent is one of the best-selling hip hop artists in history; without 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, one can only wonder where hip hop would be right now, especially considering how many artists have been affected one way or another by Fifty’s career (Eminem, Game, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, etc). How could one forget about his accomplishments, his accolades?

There’s no denying that 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, has had an amazing influence on music in the past eleven years. He brought back the idea of a successful hip hop group in G-Unit, while becoming a marketing master; G-Unit sold shoes, video games, hats, clothing, and most of all, good music. He’s made millions of dollars thanks to a partnership with Vitamin Water. He nearly was the voice actor for Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a video game constantly called one of the greatest of all time.

Yet…maybe Fifty was right. It’s been a while since the ‘In Da Club’ rapper has been among the list of top rappers in terms of popularity – not since 2009, when he released his last solo album, Before I Self Destruct, and even then that’s debatable. This album, in a year that featured massive hip hop releases in Eminem’s Relapse, Jay-Z’s Blueprint III, The Last Kiss by Jadakiss, and So Far Gone by Drake, only sold 160,000 in its first week. Considering his prior album, Curtis, sold 691,000 in its first week only twenty six months prior, this was an eye-popping number.

Yet, many (including myself) believed this to be a fluke; this was 50 Cent, after all. This was the artist who ushered in a new era of hip hop – one that was more pop friendly and club happy. Ever since 2010, rap fans have been desperately awaiting the fifth studio album from the now 38 year old rapper. Originally titled Black Magic, it was called an album that would blend in different genres of music…but more importantly, it would show that Before I Self Destruct’s lackluster performance would prove to be nothing more than a bump in the road.

Well, what happened?

Eminem, the man who helped 50 Cent become a household name, returned to the rap game. G-Unit, the group that joined Jackson in his rise to the top of the rap throne over a decade ago, has more or less disbanded; Last year, Jackson was quoted as saying, “[I got] to the point where I was writing the music…helping them with their albums, putting the right choruses and production around them so they could make the album right. I think that there are certain things you do where you enable people and they feel like you are supposed to do that. This is how we do it, versus they appreciate you actually doing it. So, I made that mistake also.” So, no more G-G-G-G-G-G UNIT yells before a song.

Plus, people just stopped listening to 50 Cent. When Jackson dropped ‘My Life’ in fall of 2012, it was a song he thought could surpass In Da Club thanks to having mentor Eminem and pop icon Adam Levine on the track. It’d be the lead single for his long-awaited fifth studio album, and while surpassing ‘In Da Club’ may have been tough, the overall expectation was that it would re-cement 50 Cent’s place at the top of the rap throne. What could go wrong?

50 Cent’s last solo album, Before I Self Destruct, came out in 2009 (Complex)

Little did he know that, like many (if not all) of his tracks in the past four years, it would receive little attention and bottom out. This, despite having EMINEM on the track. As in Eminem, the hip hop legend who most artists would kill to have on their song. Just like other recent 50 Cent singles ‘Outlaw’, ‘New Day’, ‘I’m On It’ and ‘Major Distribution’, the song disappointed and seemed to reinforce the idea that the former G-Unit general was done – the reason to blame was a lack of overall hype, lack of music videos, and little to no radio airplay compared to his earlier work.

What’s even crazier is that ‘New Day’ had Dr. Dre on it and Alicia Keys on it, and the highest it went on Billboard was 79. ‘Major Distribution’ with Snoop Dogg and Jeezy, didn’t even land in the top 100 on Billboard. This, despite the song featuring three of the biggest names in hip hop over the past twenty plus years – and in a weak year for hip hop, no less.

Yes, Curtis ‘Interscope’ Jackson has been extremely productive since 2009, including launching his own headphone brand in SMS Audio and an energy drink brand in Street King (hence the Street King Immortal album title). He’s released plenty of songs, including a well-received mixtape that was 2011’s The Big Ten; at the time, XXL proclaimed that “50 Cent has returned to form with The Big 10” while Rap Dose said in their review that “[The Big Ten] sends up the notification that 50 Cent is back”.

But is it do or die time for the ‘Candy Shop’ rapper? Over a decade after Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and almost five years after his last solo album, 50 Cent is in music hell. Can he make a comeback for the ages, or is his music career done for?

That answer will be made quite possibly soon, when Jackson releases his highly anticipated album Animal Ambition; Jackson told Complex last month:

“[Animal Ambition is] an untamed desire to win. The record is overall about prosperity, ambition, and has an entrepreneurial energy–it’s all from a distorted perspective. I just been really excited about the concept, been writing and had a lot of time to create material for the release because it’s taken so long.”

If that’s the truth, then Animal Ambition could be just what 50 Cent needs to assure hip hop fans that if nine shots couldn’t end his life, a mediocre past five years can’t end his rap career. The way that Relapse: Refill helped some Eminem fans regain confidence in Slim Shady, maybe Animal Ambition can restore faith in 50 Cent and his future.

Then, we’ll see what Street King Immortal can bring to the table. It needs to come out, though…that’s what’s killing 50 Cent: he’s become Dr. Dre and Eminem – it seems like he’s lost all faith in his music which is why he keeps pushing his albums back. Fif, this is a desperate plea from a hip hop fan – just release the albums already…hip hop needs you.

It’s time for Curtis Jackson to rejoin best friend Eminem on the rap throne; he may not be a rap god, but anything is better than a ‘has-been who’s fallen off’. It’s go time, 50.