Get Rich or Die Tryin' (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Get Rich Or Die Fucking Yourself
Studio album by 50 Cent
Released February 4, 2003
Recorded 2002
Genre East Coast hip hop, hardcore rap
Length 69:32
Label G-Unit, Aftermath, Shady, Interscope
Producer Dr. Dre (exec.)
Eminem (exec.)
Mike Elizondo, Midi Mafia, Denaun Porter, Darrell "Digga" Branch, Rockwilder, Megahertz, Rob "Reef" Tewlow, Sha Money XL, Dirty Swift, DJ Rad, Sean Blaze, John "J-Praize" Freeman, Red Spyda, Terence Dudley
Professional reviews
50 Cent chronology
Guess Who's Back?
(2002)		 Get Rich or Die Tryin'
(2003)		 The Massacre
(2005)
Singles from Get Rich or Die Tryin'
  1. "In da Club"
    Released: December 24, 2002
  2. "Wanksta"
    Released: February 17, 2003
  3. "21 Questions"
    Released: April 29, 2003
  4. "P.I.M.P."
    Released: August 12, 2003
  5. "If I Can't"
    Released: September 16, 2003

Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the commercial debut studio album by New York City rapper 50 Cent, released through Interscope Records. The album was supposed to be released on February 11, 2003, but due to leakage and heavy bootlegging on the Internet, it was released a week earlier on February 4. It was produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, and features the singles "In da Club", "21 Questions", "P.I.M.P.", and "If I Can't".

Contents

[edit] Background

The single "In da Club" was Billboard magazine's number-one single of 2003. It was the first time since 1994 that an artist had both the number-one song and album for the year (Ace of Base being the previous act to accomplish the feat). The song depicted club culture and its "vibes" and ebbs.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' was also released in an edited version that was highly censored. This version of the album completely cuts all violence, profanity, and drug content. Also the track "Heat" is cut from the edited version of the album due to heavy use of violent language including references to weapons and murder, but especially having a shotgun pumping beat throughout the song. The edited version lacks censorship in the song "Don't Push Me" and still contains one use of "goddamn" and references to shooting somebody.

The album also contains disses of artists such as Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Caddillac Tah, and Black Child. The song "Back Down" was listed on XXL's list of the greatest diss tracks of all time. [1]

Early pressings of Get Rich or Die Tryin' included a limited edition bonus DVD. There was a second version with a red CD and a blue DVD. This version consist of a making-of documentary and the videos for "In Da Club", "Heat" and "Many Men".

Instrumentals for two songs featured on the album, "Back Down" and "Heat", were originally songs composed by Rakim and Dr. Dre. They were originally intended to be used on Rakim's debut Aftermath album, Oh My God, but due to creative differences, this album did not work out.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Commercial reception

Get Rich or Die Tryin' debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first week followed by a second week of 822,000 in sales. The album also managed to sell over 2 million copies in three weeks by averaging more than 500,000 copies per week sold a feat happening not since the Backstreet Boys and The Beatles respective album's did so in late 2000. The album spent a total of 6 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200, 11 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and 8 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. It was among the best selling albums of the decade, selling 7 million copies by the end of the year.[2][3] Overall a total of four tracks from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and eight on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs charts. Four of each being the singles. The album was certified 9x platinum, selling 9,473,000 in the U.S.[4] The album has sold 12 million copies worldwide.[5]

[edit] Critical reception

Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been called the most hyped rap debut in over a decade.[6] The album opened to positive reviews, many praising the production, 50 Cent's melodic flow, and his hard-hitting wit. Allmusic called the album impressive and incredibly calculated in their positive four star review.[6] Christian Hoard, a writer for Rolling Stone, commended 50 Cent's undeniable showcase of skill, radio-ready tracks, and marketable thug persona in addition to the album's production for its dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards, and persistently funky bounce.[7] It is one of only 19 rap albums to receive a perfect rating from XXL magazine.[citation needed]

[edit] Singles

This is a list of singles from Get Rich or Die Tryin':

  • "In da Club" was the first official single released to promote 50 Cent's debut album. It made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.
  • "21 Questions" was the second official single and featured Nate Dogg, who gives additional vocals on the chorus and outro. The song was written by 50 Cent, K. Risto, J. Cameron, and V. Cameron. It became 50 Cent's second consecutive number-one song on the Hot 100. The track was produced by Dirty Swift and samples Barry White's "It's Only Love Doing Its Thing".
  • The "P.I.M.P." remix was the third single and official remix of "P.I.M.P.". It features G-Unit and Snoop Dogg and peaked at number three on the Hot 100. The song begins with 50 Cent's first verse from the original version of the song, followed by verses from Snoop Dogg, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck. In some countries, the song is featured as a bonus track.
  • "If I Can't" was the fourth and final single. The track received little attention and peaked at number 76.

[edit] In popular culture

The song "Don't Push Me" was used as the entrance song for Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101.

[edit] Track listing

  • 50 Cent co-wrote all of the songs on the album; additional writers are listed below.
# Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Intro"       0:06
2. "What Up Gangsta?"   Michael Clervoix Sha Money XL 2:59
3. "Patiently Waiting" (featuring Eminem) J. Jackson, Mike Elizondo, Luis Resto, Marshall Mathers Eminem 4:48
4. "Many Men (Wish Death)"   Abdi Shire, Darrell Branch Darrell Branch 4:16
5. "In da Club"   Andre Young, Elizondo Dr. Dre, Mike Elizondo 3:13
6. "High all the Time"   Resto, C. Almonacy, Mathers, Michael Clervoix DJ Rad 4:29
7. "Heat"   Tom Coster, Young, Elizondo Dr. Dre 4:14
8. "If I Can't"   Young, Elizondo Dr. Dre 3:16
9. "Blood Hound" (featuring Young Buck) S. Henderson, David Darnell Brown Eddy Sheppard 4:00
10. "Back Down"   Young, Elizondo, Ron Feemstar Dr. Dre 4:03
11. "P.I.M.P."   Denaun Porter Mr. Porter 4:09
12. "Like My Style" (featuring Tony Yayo) Dana Stinson, M. Bernard Rockwilder 3:13
13. "Poor Lil Rich"   Clervoix Sha Money XL 3:19
14. "21 Questions" (featuring Nate Dogg) J. Cameron, V. Cameron, Kevin Risto Midi Mafia 3:44
15. "Don't Push Me" (featuring Eminem & Lloyd Banks) Resto, Mathers, Christopher Lloyd Eminem 4:08
16. "Gotta Make It to Heaven"   D. Wesley Megahertz 4:00

[edit] Charts

Chart (2003)[8] Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart [8] 4
Austrian Albums Chart [8] 16
Belgian Flanders Albums Chart [8] 3
Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart [8] 14
Canadian Albums Chart [9] 1
Dutch Albums Chart [8] 5
Danish Albums Chart [8] 6
Finnish Albums Chart [8] 11
French Albums Chart [8] 12
Italian Albums Chart [8] 13
New Zealand Albums Chart [8] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart [8] 5
Swedish Albums Chart [8] 8
Swiss Albums Chart [8] 8
UK Albums Chart 2
U.S. Billboard 200 [9] 1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [9] 1

[edit] References

  1. ^ "XXL Magazine | Features | 2005 | June | Shots Fired". Xxlmag.com. 2005-03-09. http://www.xxlmag.com/Features/2005/june/diss-songs/index.html. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  2. ^ Candace Anderson (September 17, 2007). Kanye West and 50 Cent go head to head in record sales competition. TheCurrentOnline. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
  3. ^ Byrnes, Paul (January 18, 2006). Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  4. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts Of The 2000s". New.music.yahoo.com. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/39906/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-new-acts-of-the-2000s/. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  5. ^ "> Discussion Forums". Box Office Mojo. 2009-06-11. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/forums/viewtopic.htm?t=77392&sid=e113c44cdf49c2f4b4355a706afe072d. Retrieved 2009-09-22. 
  6. ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason (2003-02-06). "((( Get Rich or Die Tryin' > Overview )))". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:svz1z88a4yv3. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  7. ^ (Posted: Feb 11, 2003) (2003-02-11). "50 Cent: Get Rich Or Die Tryin' : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone<!. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/50cent/albums/album/301556/review/6067729/get_rich_or_die_tryin. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Steffen Hung. "50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin'". swisscharts.com. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=50+Cent&titel=Get+Rich+Or+Die+Tryin%27&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  9. ^ a b c http://www.billboard.com/#/album/50-cent/get-rich-or-die-tryin/567925

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Home by Dixie Chicks
Come Away With Me by Norah Jones
American Life by Madonna		 Billboard 200 number-one album
February 16, 2003 – March 1, 2003
March 16, 2003 – April 5, 2003
May 11, 2003 – May 17, 2003		 Succeeded by
Chocolate Factory by R. Kelly
Meteora by Linkin Park
Body Kiss by The Isley Brothers feat. Ronald Isley
v • d • e
50 Cent
Albums
Power of the Dollar  · Get Rich or Die Tryin'  · The Massacre  · Curtis  · Before I Self Destruct
Compilation albums
Mixtapes
50 Cent Is the Future  · No Mercy, No Fear  · God's Plan  · War Angel LP  · Forever King  · The 50th Law of Power
Filmography
50 Cent: The New Breed · "Pranksta Rap" · Get Rich or Die Tryin' · Home of the Brave · Righteous Kill · Before I Self Destruct · Streets of Blood · Dead Man Running · Spectacular Regret · 13 · The Dance · The Ski Mask Way
Video games
Related articles
v • d • e
50 Cent singles
Power of the Dollar
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
The Massacre
Get Rich or Die Tryin' OST
Curtis
Before I Self Destruct
"Ok, You're Right" · "Baby by Me" · "Do You Think About Me" · "Get It Hot"
Other singles
Notable songs
Featured singles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin%27_(album)"