50 cent - Curtis - Album Review

3.5 out of 5

"Pound for pound I'm the best around", 50 cent claims on Curtis his third LP and second made specifically for the adolescent children who buy his records and still believe that rappers kill each other (oh and the toothfairy).

But why does he actually believe this? It might be because he sells the most records. But this doesn't make him the best just as it doesn't make "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" the best rap CD of all time. And just as Hammer couldn't do hard (and failed trying) 50 can't do smart or well-rounded for that matter as all the songs on Curtis are about killing, sex, and how much money he has as you would expect from a 50 cent CD.

Maybe then its how much he can switch his style up (and watch the money pile up?). On Curtis 50 tries various different flow patterns other than his normal and ridiculously pathetic fake southern flow but the problem is that none of them work well.

So why the rating after all the hating? Well the production on Curtis is very good and saves Curtis Jackson from comming out like Michael Jackson. The Shady Aftermath team once again does an incredible job in salvaging this album by varying the style of beats to keep the listener interested and by keeping the songs short and blending them together like a mix-tape (why we liked 50 in the first place) so if you don't like one song you won't have to wait long.

Also as with other top-selling artists 50 cent pulls out an A-list mix of guests who all outshine 50 but in doing so make the album better such as Akon on "I'll Still Kill" and the JT/timbo callabo "AYO Technology" (Oh and 50, you lose all credibility when you let a former boy band member write some of your verses).

Though 50 cent on Curtis is a shell of his former self we still have to give him credit for ending Ja Rule's career (thank god) and for "Get Rich or Die Trying" one of the better LP's of this decade and on Curtis it takes a Tony Yayo cameo on "Hands Up High" to remind us of when 50 was good and why we liked him. Shit-talking and punchlines.

See 50 you were never a great rapper (so let's just forget about the best talk) but on your early shit you were funny as hell as you made it impossible for anyone with any self respect to listen to Ja's music, and we loved you for that. And while your handelers may keep telling you how much "They luv da kid" unless you become hungry like that again, or (gasp) show some artistic growth, it won't be for long.