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Illmatic

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Unique Personal Classic Album?

By Illmatic 1 Comments

We all have them. That one album that many may consider a flop, the point when a band sold out or lost their sound, a musical experiment gone bad, or simply something so popular its now considered uncool to enjoy but we believe to be a masterpiece of some kind. 50 cent....wait, where are you going? I'm being honest here. A blog post about our own personal classic albums contains the words "50" and "cent" placed side by side. I know what you're thinking, he's the guy made one terrible game, one game that many consider fun for reasons other than being good, and popularized the phrase "G-g-g-g-g-g-g-Unit!!!" amongst suburban youth. But before his

Apparently he wasn't born, he was engineered.
Apparently he wasn't born, he was engineered.
failings and played out habits would come to light, 50 Cent rose from the underground rapping scene most notably famous for his track "How To Rob" to a world that embraced him the moment he dropped down from the ceiling in a fictional training room and announced it was in fact, all of our birthdays.



I had not yet gone through my "mainstream music sucks" phase that I am now ashamed to acknowledge these days, so it wasn't hard for me to latch onto such a catchy beat. It didn't hurt that Eminem and Dr. Dre played a vital role in the video as well, linking themselves to the soon to be mega star 50 cent. If two arguable rap legends put their own stamp of approval on someone, the hip-hop community listens. Well, at least back then they did. Afterward, you couldn't tune into a radio station that wasn't blasting out this newcomers single. It didn't have an important message or uplifting words for the listener. It was simple and pure in its one true goal, give the listener something to listen to on a dull drive to school/work or a night out at the club. Of course, so many artists these days successfully release a track only to disappear into the hungry, gaping jaws of the
A still from the
A still from the "Many Men" video, a song which held accounts of the infamous shooting.
music industry a record later. 50 possessed something however that would separate him from the most. Something that was important back then for many self proclaimed "thug rappers." He had been shot. Not once, but nine times if stories were to be believed. Now I'd like to say I was able to look past something so juvenile to brag about, but it only raised my curiosity further. Not only did he survive 9 shootings but its affect on his voice gave him a delivery and cadence weren't used to. Many naysayers mocked it but it held my interest.



He would go on to release three more singles, but with the amount of leaking and hype around the release of his first album "Get Rich or Die Trying" and his NY roots, I couldn't walk the streets of Brooklyn without hearing more than three-quarters of his LP blasting through various car speakers and home stereos. Whether he was lamenting over death wishes with "Many Men" or seducing the female audience with "21 Questions," each track kept you hooked with a hard hitting beat from Dre, 50 Cent's soon to be overplayed mic presence, and simple lyrics that were easy to sing along to. He didn't have Common's message of hope or Jay-Z's classy gangsta approach, he just wanted to entertain and evidently, "Get Rich or Die Trying." That's right, if you haven't guessed it by now or left out of disgust or rage, Get Rich or Die Trying is my personal classic album. Back then, that wouldn't seem so hard to believe, but today in a world where 50 Cent could never realistically outsell Kanye West
Brazen, but effective.
Brazen, but effective.
and whose sound and brand feel dated and tired, claiming that his first album was a classic is heresy to many. Yes, I'll admit that The Massacre fell flat in its attempt to recreate the magic of Get Rich and Carter was simply a mess of sound and bland beats but this is the man or rather the album that decimated Ja Rule's career. An album that contained shots at both Nas and Jay-Z and had the artist come out relatively unscathed...at least for the moment. To this day, I recall the words to most, if not, all of the tracks on this album. I may not like the artist 50 cent is today, but I still hold Get Rich or Die Trying highly amongst my all time favorites.



So let's have it. Don't be ashamed. What's your own unique, personal classic album?
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