NBC Crowns 50 Cent's '5...Murder By Numbers' As a Brilliant Piece of Work
NBC writes:
Last week, 50 Cent released his third mixtape of the past year. It’s titled 5 (Murder by Numbers), and it contains two of the best songs he’s made in years, and eight songs that remind us why the Queens rapper, though wildly successful, is looked to as largely a non-entity within the hip-hop landscape these days.
The tape is bookended by the two aforementioned stunners. The first is the reggae-inflected “My Crown,” where 50 sounds recharged. “I’m still the s—t,” he begins his verse, rapping in the lilting, closed-mouthed-and-closed-fist style that the 50 of yore rode to the top.
It’s been an interesting decade for 50 Cent. In many ways his debut album Get Rich or Die Trying was the rap album for a generation, its Dr. Dre beats positioning 50 as the world’s scariest hitmaker, while album tracks such as the bullet-drenched “Heat” and the morose anthem “Many Men” became hip-hop classics in their own right.
From there, 50 embraced his role as the hood’s favorite pop-rapper, his album The Massacre presenting more or less a rehash of Get Rich. Though it’s a fine album on its own, it displayed a crippling lack of originality for 50. He continued this slide, mining a shaft he’d long depleted, hoping to find one last diamond.
Still, the influence of Get Rich is undeniable. His narrative, that of the hard-nosed street hustler who paused his drug operation to build a rap empire, has become a template in the latter-day rap game. It’s fitting, then, that Schoolboy Q, a Los Angeles rapper who shows an undeniable 50 Cent influence, steals the show on Murder by Numbers’ final track “Can I Speak to You.” In an interview with VIBE, Q spoke about how 50 Cent, “Probably saved my life.” Q was in a similar position a few years ago, with one foot in the street and another in the studio, when he chose to devote himself to rapping full-time because of what he saw from 50. In something of a full-circle narrative, he and the rest of his Black Hippy crew are now signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label.
It’s the songs wedged between the twin gems of “Can I Speak to You” and “My Crown” that are problematic. There’s a song about smoking marijuana despite the fact that 50’s an avowed non-drug user, a song about how completely and totally rich he is, and a couple lovemaking anthems that could have been left on the cutting room floor of the already-short tracklist. Still, for a mixtape that was released for free online, a .200 batting average might as well equal a home run.
Click HERE to Download '5...Murder By Numbers'
Follow @jbettis420
Comment
-
Comment by Killem Softly on July 19, 2012 at 6:53pm -
NBC trippin Big 10 n The Lost Tapes is FIRE!!! WTF "I ain't going to lie" Summer hit alone with "U can b my Bit**" Summer jamz, I keep 50 on decc beatin hard n the hood!!! Fu** ni**az!!
-
Comment by ConVinced on July 18, 2012 at 12:32pm -
murder by numbers thats the s*** can't wait till november
-
Comment by thisisMe@50 on July 16, 2012 at 8:50pm -
lol since when do NBC rate rap albums, wierd
-
Comment by thisisMe@50 on July 16, 2012 at 8:50pm
-
Lol of course NBC says so, smh wow fif you in son, you in...good luck
-
Comment by AJ on July 15, 2012 at 10:13pm -
the title says brilliant but says it has 2 hot songs outta 10. i'm confused. lol. so 2 outta 10 is brilliant?
-
Comment by Emmanuel Leke on July 15, 2012 at 8:34am -
Go Big Homie Fif.
-
Comment by goofy on July 15, 2012 at 1:35am
-
who cares ... lol i want some real punch lines & some colabs like METHODMAN ... EM... SNOOP... CAMRON... KIM... LLOYD BANKS...YAYO...DRE... FRENCH...SCHOOL BOY Q ...AND NAS & JAY Z ...
-
Comment by smokecologne on July 14, 2012 at 3:57pm -
GET EM FIF !
-
Comment by 2Corvettes on July 14, 2012 at 3:55pm -
#SK WANT TO ADVRTISE ON MY 18 WHEELER TRAILER?THISISTRUCKIN
-
Comment by teresa brow on July 14, 2012 at 2:52pm -
Great job Fif! Proud of you and keep on doing your thang. I finally got me a SK energy drink w/your autograph!I am also reading your book Death Before Dishonor. I just finished reading The Ski Mask Way! It was a Good Book. I like L+T(LYT to the 2nd power)=Death Before Dishonor. Now I got to get your new album. Can't wait. Love you Daddy!
Top Content
![Kidd Kidd - The Weak And The Strong - Produced By Falling Down [Listen/Download] -TI50](http://api.ning.com/files/KBrEfAoS3SGRyiBvnAgJjDM7Dgb5JmI6lOCJho3HWgAv-pePPXJe9-uN4Vp9IsqWAwL6yCrg7H88GNeiw8uihw__/thisis50resized.png?width=32&height=32&crop=1%3A1){kind=small}
![50 Cent Speaks On His 'Playground' Book Being Picked Up By Fox For New Cartoon, How His Career Impacted His Son, Making Sure All The Members Of G-Unit Became Known & More [Video]](http://api.ning.com/files/gfq3QAvFlwWETwGdA7WPV4yOp*A67vSjd672cT9jTCA6KFirVgJ1emvSqKMc772EoyELmo9msqZ8T670jrEhNqYMUqpm8NIA/279055527.jpeg?width=32&height=32&crop=1%3A1){kind=small}
Upcoming Releases
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
Young South commented on ChasinDatPaper's blog post Fabolous Speaks On Past Beef W/Ray J, Plaxico Burress Dry Snitching On Him, Loso's Way 2, Tahiry, 50 Cent Trying To Sign Him & More [Video]
50 Cent liked Kidd Kidd's blog post Kidd Kidd - The Weak And The Strong - Produced By Falling Down [Listen/Download] -TI50
thisis50 via TwitterLil Wayne is one lucky guy! Check out Nicki Minaj give him a lap dance on stage! http://t.co/ncoGjKg2hb
M.K.J... commented on ChasinDatPaper's blog post 50 Cent Speaks On His 'Playground' Book Being Picked Up By Fox For New Cartoon, How His Career Impacted His Son, Making Sure All The Members Of G-Unit Became Known & More [Video]"COOL..."
Dsmith commented on ChasinDatPaper's blog post T.I. Ft. Lil Wayne - Wit Me [Music Video Trailer]"Cash money and the cater was alot better in new jack city....."
Dsmith commented on NewMusic's blog post Dark Lo - Birds On The Wire [Official Music Video]"@tony ....you must be talking about the real Rick Ross.."
DJ Slowpoke commented on corentin's blog post 2013 Billboard Music Awards Live Performances"FU CK MAclemore tired of seeing his bi tch a ss"
© 2013 Created by 50 Cent.
You need to be a member of ThisIs50.com to add comments!
Join ThisIs50.com