Having conquered the hip-hop world, Eminem turned to the next challenge: production. Like his mentor Dr. Dre, Eminem wanted to find new talents and nurture them, and with 50 Cent he found gold. For one thing, he was sexy, and drove the girls wild. But he had something which captured the minds of the boys as well: while previous gansta-rappers were mainly artists who drew from the world of ghetto gangs into their art, he actually came from that world. So there was something more authentic about him, and that authenticity captured the minds of many youngsters who grabbed his records like hot buns. My reaction, on the other hand, was: so what?
I see nothing thrilling about 50 Cent. He looks like a caricature, a Mickey Mouse version of a gangsta and a pimp, glorifying a lifestyle that has nothing heroic about it. Other gangsta-rappers have also glamorized this lifestyle, but the good ones always showed the other side of the coin as well. It's hard to expect someone who's actually named after a coin to see the other side of himself, and Fifty's music is even flatter and cheaper that his name. The content of his records is silly, the lyrics lack any inspiration, and his flow is lame. Dre and Eminem's production helps a lot, but doesn't salvage the situation.
This is actually an excellent party record, mainly due to the production. For the rest of his records, I wouldn't give you even five cent.
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