About Stefan Halley
Location: Malmo, Sweden
Occupation: Editor-in-Chief
Bio: Stefan has been writing reviews for seven years and started Pop Syndicate out of need to voice his mis-guided opinion.
Posts: 719
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Fifty Cent returns with his third album Curtis and it’s a downward slide. He brings along Dr. Dre, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Akon, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke and others for the ride. These extra additions help elevate the disc but it’s still a long way from Get Rich or Die Tryin’. That’s not to say there aren’t some great songs on Curtis. There just aren’t enough to justify purchasing the entire disc.
Kicking off Curtis is a sampling from the movie Shooters. I guess 50 is trying establish a theme and prepare the listener for what’s coming up, but it’s mostly just a waste of 30 seconds that will have everyone flipping past it to get the music once they hear it once. “My Gun Go Off” leads off the CD. The tracks on Curtis fall into one of two areas: women or guns. There is no guessing where “My Guns Go Off” falls. It’s one of the more solid tracks on the CD but lyrically doesn’t sound that much different from 1000 other rap tracks where some brags about how hard core they can be. Thankfully, the production keeps the song tight and flowing.
Dre has teamed up with lots of artist to create some classic songs. His partnering here is just bad and embarrassing. Dre and 50 team up for “Come & Go”. It’s a mistake on almost every level. Same with the “Candy Shop” rehash called “Amusement Park”. With lines like “You don’t have to pull you panties off, just slip ‘em to side.” you can hear 12 year-olds everywhere giggling with glee because he said panties. Those are nothing compared to the pathetic showing on “Follow My Lead” with Robin Thicke.
Fortunately, his partnership with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland is one of the highlights of Curtis. “Ayo Technology” is the track that will keep the dance floor popping until the morning hours. Mary J. Blige adds a bit of weight to “All of Me”, which is a nice change after the heavy synthesizers on “Fire”, another mistake produced by Dr. Dre. Blige and 50 provide a rockin’ soulful number filled with horns and a little funk guitar. “Curtis 187” feels like a return to form for 50. This is more of the gangsta stuff that made him a hit. Curtis goes out on a sold number called “Touch the Sky”. Tony Yayo leads his vocals another dance floor anthem from Fifty.
Fifty goes throws a wide net here trying to capture as large an audience as he can. In doing so he’s watered down his sound and created a mediocre CD, which the masses will gobble up like grape Cool-Ade. The songs that work are strong and will have you coming back again and again. Unfortunately those four songs don’t justify the purchase of the whole CD.
