Curtis

50 has 2 HOT tracks leading up to the release of Curtis! Both have taken the radio airwaves by storm: "AYO TECHNOLOGY" featuring JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE and TIMBALAND - produced by TIMBALAND, and "I GET MONEY!" Curtis continues 50 Cent's phenomenal rise from the mean streets. His official debut album, 2003's Get Rich Or Die Tryin.., sold 872,000 units in the first four days of its release, making it the fastest-selling debut disc in the SoundScan era (since 1991). The album was the biggest seller of 2003 and is currently ten times platinum worldwide. Later that year, The New Breed, a DVD with a bonus CD including new songs, charted #2 Pop and #1 R&B/Hip-Hop. His second album, 2005's The Massacre, was the second biggest-selling album of the year and is now seven times platinum worldwide. Since he first dropped his bombs on the music world, 50 has earned 11 Grammy nominations, from Best New Artist to Best Rap Album for each of his first two efforts. Attesting to his worldwide popularity, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' hit #2 in the U.K. and #1 in Australia while The Massacre went #1 in both those countries, #2 in Sweden, and is the biggest-selling rap album in India, where it has been certified double platinum, selling more than 2,000,000 copies. Back in the U.S., 50 has scored three singles claiming the #1 spot across the charts -- R&B/Hip-hop, Rap, and Pop: "In Da Club," "Candy Shop," and "21 Questions" (featuring Nate Dogg). Three more went Top 3 across the board: "P.I.M.P," "Just A Lil Bit," and "Disco Inferno." Yet another four were Rap Top 10s: "Wanksta," "Outta Control (Remix)," "Window Shopper," and "Best Friend." Four of the above have been certified digital gold: "In Da Club," "Candy Shop," "P.I.M.P," and "Disco Inferno." From music to movies, video games to books, a clothing line to footwear, 50 has taken street culture by storm. But as Curtis proves, and as he says in ..Straight to the Bank,.. 50 Cent wants even more.

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If you believe everything you hear, Curtis is 50 Cent's bid to be hip-hop king--the rumor goes that he issued it the same day Kanye West released his Graduation CD to spawn a sales race and thus, a) establish superiority, or b) retire with his head hung low. But here's what might not have occurred to 50: Given enough talent and a fully loaded speed-dial--the kind that can raise Timbaland, Akon, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem faster than the sickest rapper can stitch together a verse--it's possible for two diabolically good discs to drop the same day. Forgetting the Kanye competition for a moment, Curtis might come up short in a race with its creator's other albums--the rawness and reach of Get Rich Or Die Tryin' isn't here. But certain cultural moments (who would refute that the release Get Rich? was one?) can't be replicated, and what Curtis lacks in credible grit, it more than makes up for in finesse. Never let it be said that you can't be fierce and flow at the same time: "I Get Money" glides back to the old school in sound--there's a house party happening behind this track--but sends out a modern message, "I'll Still Kill," with Akon, underscores 50's continued thug-hood with a lethal hook, and "Follow My Lead," with the smoothie Robin Thicke, is a finger-popper worth 100 plays for its sly mood alone. May the best rapper, if there is one, keep rapping. --Tammy La Gorce