Even the threats and declarations, bereft of the violent, pull-no-punches absolutism of Big L.'s early horrorcore, seem sanitized for Middle America. In perhaps his biggest misstep, 50 Cent eschews a world inhabited by real people doing real shit for most of Get Rich, instead relying on generalized threats, proclamations of invincibility, and calls for pussy. He doesn't delve into the character of the gangsta any deeper than the prosaism he spits, and while he obviously has an excellent vocal cadence and a finely tuned ear, his lyrics lack the textured imagery and dexterity of themes necessary to sustain interest over the course of a full album. But, with the exception of a few quality verses sprinkled here and there, 50 strikes as a parody of these masters, and does little on his debut to establish a persona of his own. Biggie came with the soul, Pac came with the charisma, L. This isn't as much a moral quarrel as it is one of thematic development. The wit is sparse, the details are slim, and the threats are hollow. Unfortunately, Get Rich or Die Tryin' rarely reaches these pinnacles for most of the album's duration, 50 wallows in the genre's clichés. At its best, gangsta delves into these contradictions- the pull between community and wealth, morality and survival- with a deftness and wit alternately charming and horrifying. Stylistically, gangsta is a mesh of Cinema Verite and action blockbusters, where the grime and moral ambivalence of the crack trade clash with the unmitigated bravado of playa anthems. ![]() It has resulted in political pundits- many, it must be noted, with latently racist agendas- dismissing the entire culture as violent, misogynistic, and ultimately destructive. ![]() Whether the motivations stem from a Derrideian desire to transform our monsters into pets, a post-feminist need to latch onto a lost sense of dominant masculinity, the streets' unquenchable thirst for heroes, or simply a quest for a compelling urban narrative, hip-hop's obsession with the gangsta has dominated the genre for more than a decade.
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