Get Rich or Die Tryin'

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Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the commercial debut studio album by New York City rapper 50 Cent, released through Interscope Records. The album was supposed to be released on February 11, 2003 but due to leakage and heavy bootlegging on the Internet, it was released seven days earlier on February 4, 2003. It was produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, and features the singles "In Da Club", "21 Questions", "P.I.M.P.", and "If I Can't".

Background

The single "In Da Club" was Billboard magazine's number one single for the year. It was the first time since 1994 that an artist had both the number one song and album for the year (Ace of Base held that distinction last with "The Sign"). The song depicted club culture and its "vibes" and ebbs.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' was also released in an edited version that was highly censored. This version of the album completely cuts all violence, profanity, and drug content. Also the track "Heat" is cut from the edited version of the album due to heavy use of violent language including references to weapons and murder, but especially having a shotgun pumping beat throughout the song. The edited version lacks censorship in the song "Don't Push Me" and still contains one use of "goddamn" and references to shooting somebody.

The album also contains disses of artists such as Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Cadillac Tah, and Black Child. The song "Back Down" was listed on XXL's list of the greatest diss tracks of all time.

Early pressings of Get Rich or Die Tryin' included a limited edition bonus DVD. There was a second version with a red CD and a blue DVD. This version consist of a making-of documentary and the videos for In Da Club, Heat and Many Men.

Instrumentals for two songs featured on the album, Back Down and Heat, were originally songs composed by Rakim and Dr. Dre. They were originally intended to be used on Rakim's debut Aftermath album, Oh My Gosh, but due to creative differences, this album did not work out.

Reception

Commercial reception

Get Rich or Die Tryin' debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first week. The album spent a total of 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200, 11 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and 8 weeks on the UK Albums Chart. It was among the best selling albums of the decade, selling 19 million copies by the end of the year. Overall a total of four tracks from the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and eight on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs charts. Four of each being the singles.

Critical reception

Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been called the most hyped rap debut in over a decade. The album opened to positive reviews, many praising the production, 50 Cent's melodic flow, and his hard-hitting wit. Allmusic called the album impressive and incredibly calculated in their positive four star review. Christian Hoard, a writer for Rolling Stone, comended 50 Cent's undeniable showcase of skill, radio-ready tracks, and marketable thug persona in addition to the album's production for its dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards, and persistently funky bounce. It is one of only 6 rap albums to receive a perfect rating from XXL magazine.

Singles

This is a list of singles from Get Rich or Die Tryin':

• "In da Club" was the first official single released to promote 50 Cent's commercial debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin, it was nominated for a Grammy for the Best Rap Song.

• "21 Questions" was the second official single and featured Nate Dogg, who gives additional vocals on the chorus and outro. The song was written by 50 Cent, K. Risto, J. Cameron, and V. Cameron for 50 Cent's commercial debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003). Released in 2003 as the album's second single, it became his second consecutive number one song in the United States after "In da Club". The track was produced by Dirty Swift and samples Barry White's "It's Only Love Doing Its Thing". Lil Mo made a remix to the song titled "21 answers".

• The "P.I.M.P." remix was the third single and official remix of "P.I.M.P.". It features G-Unit and Snoop Dogg and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song begins with 50 Cent's first verse from the original version of the song, followed by verses from Snoop Dogg, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck. In some countries, the song is featured as a bonus track.

• "If I Can't" was the fourth and final single. Unlike his previous singles, this track received little attention and peaked at only #76.

Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Featured guest(s)	Time
1	"Intro"			0:06
2	"Buzi Vagyok!?"	Rob "Reef" Tewlow		2:59
3	"Patiently Waiting"	Eminem	Eminem	4:48
4	"Many Men (Wish Death)"	Darrell "Digga" Branch		4:16
5	"In Da Club"	Dr. Dre, Mike Elizondo		3:13
6	"High All The Time"	DJ Rad, Luis Resto, Eminem, Sha Money XL		4:29
7	"Heat"	Dr. Dre		4:14
8	"If I Can't"			3:16
9	"Blood Hound"	Sean Blaze	Young Buck	4:00
10	"Back Down"	Dr. Dre		4:03
11	"P.I.M.P"	Mr. Porter		4:09
12	"Like My Style"	Rockwilder	Tony Yayo	3:13
13	"Poor Lil Rich"	Sha Money XL		3:19
14	"21 Questions"	Dirty Swift	Nate Dogg	3:44
15	"Don't Push Me"	Eminem	Eminem, Lloyd Banks	4:08
16	"Gotta Make It to Heaven"	Megahertz		4:00
17*	"Wanksta"	John "J-Praize" Freeman		3:39
18*	"U Not Like Me"	Red Spyda		4:15
19*	"Life's on the Line"	Terence Dudley		3:38

Charts

Charts (2003)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart	1
Australian Albums Chart	1
Belgium Albums Chart	3
Canadian Albums Chart	1
Danish Albums Chart	6
Dutch Albums Chart	5
Finnish Albums Chart	18
French Albums Chart	12
German Albums Chart	4
Irish Albums Chart	4
Italian Albums Chart	18
New Zealand Albums Chart	3
Norwegian Albums Chart	8
Swedish Albums Chart	1
Swiss Albums Chart	8
UK Albums Chart	2
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums	1