Curtis (50 Cent album)

Curtis is the third studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released September 11, 2007, on Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features production from Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Timbaland, among others. Music writers have noted that 50 Cent divides between "hard" songs and "soft" songs on the album.^[1][2]

Upon its release, Curtis was met with significant commercial success. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 691,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, the album received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. After years of slumping sales, the album's competition with Kanye West's Graduation and the resulting record breaking performances both albums displayed was considered to be a "great day for hip hop."^[3]

Conception

Background

Initially, 50 Cent's 2007 album was planned to be Before I Self Destruct,^[4] however, he decided to push back its release date to 2008,^[5] and to release Curtis in 2007 instead. The album's title was changed twice. The first time, it was changed from "Curtis" to "Curtis S.S.K.". The second time, it was changed back to "Curtis". The "S.S.K.", which stood for "SoundScan Killer", was intended to show the pressure 50 Cent felt to succeed.^[6] The "S.S.K." also stands for "SouthSide King"^[7] and "Shoot, Stab, Kill". 50 Cent stated that the album was inspired by his life before his commercial debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. He also stated that he chose the album's title because he was known as "Curtis" before he became famous.^[6] In January 2007, DJ Whoo Kid predicted the album to be a double disc LP, with one CD having a "crazy club-bangin' ridiculous" theme and the other having a "hard-core killer sh--," theme. However this did not materialize.^[8]

Recording

50 Cent wrote parts of the album in his grandmother's old house in South Jamaica, Queens the first record to hit the Internet was Smile I'm Leaving produced by Klasic from the bulletsproductionteam.com, he also flew to Florida to work on "Ayo Technology" with Justin Timberlake, and finished the song in Houston.^[6] 50 Cent wrote a significant amount of the guests' lyrics.^[6]

In an interview with XXL magazine, 50 Cent stated,

I mean, it just brings memories back to me. I'm in my old space, see old faces, things start feeling the way they used to. Being able to write material from a perspective I couldn't probably write [from] in any other space like that. And I was in one of those funky creative spaces where I couldn't come up with nothing... For me, when I come back here, it's like my feet are on the ground. I don't think nothing is more painful than having known what it feel like to be successful and then having it taken away from you. So on some levels, it's healthy for me to go 'head and come from the financial space that I'm in back to here, as a reminder, so I can actually appreciate what I've got.^[9]

Music

Lyrical content

RapReviews.com stated that "There is no dip in quality lyrically; 50 is often criticized for not being a good lyricist, but he's exceptionally witty in his writtens". RapReviews.com also stated that 50 Cent "manages to cover different themes very well", praising his "seduction" on "Follow My Lead":^[2]

You listen to the rumors, they say, "50 fuckin' crazy"

"50 don't know how to treat a lady." They wrong
I like you a lot, I don't want to hurt you
But I call a square a square and a circle a circle
So if you act like a bitch, I'll call you a bitch
Then hang up, probably call you right back and shit
And have to say, "Baby, I apologize."
Cross my fingers, God forgive me for telling lies
Like Janet Jackson said, "I miss you much"

I really want to feel your touch...

Stylus Magazine writes that 50 Cent is trying to "revisit the raw fatalism that defined the best tracks on Get Rich or Die Tryin' ", quoting lyrics from "My Gun Go Off" as an example:^[10]

You know tomorrow's just a day away
If you can just keep your heart beatin' and your ass awake.

Production

Stylus Magazine stated that "the beats on Curtis sound about as dated and cheap as any Koch record". Stylus Magazine added that "each no-name producer (Veto and Roomio? Jake One?) provides the comfort food they know he'll lap up".^[11] Pitchfork Media shares Stylus Magazine's view, saying that 50 Cent "should be able to work with producers who could conjure his hit-making abilities, but instead the MC mostly sticks with tried-and-failed G-Unit stalwarts and Dre-aping up-and-comers that do him few favors".^[12] Sputnikmusic praised the production on "Ayo Technology", writing: "Timbaland's shred-guitar-goes-keyboard melody is just mesmerising enough to work".^[13]

Guests

While Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre featured mostly G-Unit and G-Unit Records artists respectively, Curtis features artists that 50 Cent has never worked with before, such as Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Timbaland and Nicole Scherzinger from Pussycat Dolls. When asked about his choice of working with artists outside of his company, 50 Cent stated, "The album, for me, was finding a space where I am content and comfortable with my career, where I can go off and create with other artists and experiment a little bit".^[6]

Reception

Commercial performance

Curtis debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 691,000 copies in its first week.^[14] It had the fourth highest sales week for an album in 2007^[14] (originally topping Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight which sold 625,000, but later being outsold by the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, which moved 711,000 units^[15] and later Alicia Keys' As I Am bringing in 742,000 copies.^[16]) It also had the highest sales week for an East Coast album since Jay-Z's Kingdom Come debuted with 680,000 copies sold several months earlier.^[17] However, Curtis brought in the second-lowest first-week sales of 50 Cent's career, with Get Rich or Die Tryin' selling 872,000 ^[18] and The Massacre moving 1.55 million copies.

Curtis sold 143,000 copies in its second week of release in America,^[19] 71,000 copies in its third week,^[20] 50,000 copies in its fourth week,^[20] 38,000 copies in its fifth week on the chart,^[21] and 30,000 copies sold in its sixth week,^[22] bringing the total to 1,000,025 and reaching platinum status. 24,000 copies were sold in week 7,^[23] 20,000 copies sold in week 8, 17,000 copies sold in week 9,^[24] another 17,000 copies sold in week 10,^[25] 21,000 copies sold in week 11,^[26] 15,000 sold in week 12,^[27] 17,000 copies sold in week 13^[28] 19,000 copies sold in week 14,^[29] and 25,000 copies sold in week 15.^[30] The album finished 2007 with 1,225,000 sold in the USA.^[31] In September 2008, exactly one year after both albums were released, Billboard released the one-year sales figures for both albums.^[32] Curtis finished with sales of 1,336,000, and Graduation finished with sales of 2,116,000.

Competition with Graduation album

In July 2007, Kanye West changed the release date of Graduation, his third studio album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as Curtis, September 11, 2007.^[33] This forced the albums to go head-to-head and compete for higher sales against each other.^[34] 50 Cent claimed that if Graduation sold more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums.^[35] However, he later dispelled his comments.^[36] When asked again about his threat to retire, 50 Cent stated that, if he were to lose, he will release an album every time a major Def Jam artist releases an album.^[37] Curtis debuted at number one on the Irish and Swiss album charts, claiming the top spot on the European Top 100 Albums chart. Curtis also topped the Australian and New Zealand album charts.

Graduation's first week sales of 957,000 and Curtis' first week sales of 691,000 meant that the competition resulted in only the second time ever (since Nielsen SoundScan began collecting data in 1991) that two albums sold more than 600,000 in a week in the United States. The first occurrence of such an event was in 1991, when Guns N' Roses released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, selling 685,000 and 770,000 copies, respectively. The first week sales totals of Graduation and Curtis have outsold the first week sales totals of Guns N' Roses' two albums.^[14]

Critical response

Upon its release, the album received generally mixed to positive from most music critics.^[47] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".^[47] Stylus Magazine gave Curtis a D+ rating and wrote "There isn’t an ounce of life in Curtis".^[48] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave it a C rating and wrote that 50 Cent "has yet to master the art of making a satisfying album rather than delivering a random assortment of demographic-pandering tracks".^[49] Allmusic's David Jeffries wrote that Curtis "is entertaining but only impressive in that 50 can run in place and still be on top".^[38] AllHipHop.com called it "a step backwards" and "while the album is not a total brick, it lacks a true consistency where his previous work flowed seamlessly and almost every record worked".^[50] The Boston Globe stated that, "artistically, [Kanye] West is always moving, while 50 is at a standstill".^[51] In a review of the album, Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot wrote that "at a time when consumers are expressing their dissatisfaction with music-industry product", Curtis provides "exactly what they say they don't want: More of the same".^[52] Slant Magazine called 50 Cent "one of the worst lyricists alive", criticizing "Amusement Park"'s lyrics and the execution of his metaphors which he "mumbles without a hint of irony or conviction".^[44] The Washington Post's Dan Chamas perceived a lack of inspiration in 50 Cent's performance on the album, writing "Wealth can free artists, or make them soft ... With 'Curtis', 50 still does what he does best: write tight pop songs about guns, girls and green over the best beats money can buy. But the charm is gone".^[53]

In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau named it "dud of the month", giving it a B rating and wrote that 50 Cent, "a parvenu mastering pop music for money", has "turned into a made man running on vanity".^[39] However, USA Today's Steve Jones gave the album 3½ out of 4 stars and wrote favorably of the album's production and 50 Cent's performance.^[45] While writing that its themes of "chip-stacking and sexual prowess ... aren’t new", Jones stated that 50 Cent "delivers them with unmatched swagger and flair".^[45] Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield gave Curtis 3½ out of 5 stars and noted that 50 Cent is "out to prove he's everything he used to claim", and similar to The Massacre, he "divides between hard songs ('Man Down', 'Fire', 'I'll Still Kill') and soft songs ('Follow My Lead')".^[1] Sheffield also noted that 50 Cent is for the first time "letting guests sing most of the hooks".^[1] The New York Times's Kelefa Sanneh gave it a generally favorable review and commended 50 Cent for his rapping, writing "his mush-mouthed delivery is still charming, and so are his endless provocations".^[41] PopMatters writer Josh Timmermann gave Curtis a 7/10 rating and cited "I Get Money" as "the collection's clear MVP, an iron-fisted ode to living large".^[43] Time magazine ranked the single "I Get Money" number 6 on its list of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, and the magazine's critic Josh Tyrangiel praised the song as "hypnotic", observing that its appeal is owed to the "Top Billin" sample, and that 50 Cent's bemusement at his own survival and success "makes the song as wry as it is scary".^[54][55] The album helped him win Best-Selling Hip-Hop Artist at the 2007 World Music Awards.^[56] Entertainment Weekly placed the album at third place in their list of Worst Albums of 2007.^[57]

Track listing

• 50 Cent co-wrote all of the songs on the album; additional writers are listed below.^[7]

Sample credits

• "Intro" contains dialogue from the motion picture "Shooters". Used courtesy of Lions Gate Films, Inc. & Geops Amsterdam, B.V., by arrangement YONAS with PFG Entertainment, Inc. Dialogue excerpts spoken by Andrew Howard and Matthew Rhys.
• "Man Down" contains elements from "Scooby Doo Theme" (Mook/Raleigh). Mook Bros Music (admin by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp) (BMI)/Ben Raleigh Music (admin by Music Sales Corp) (ASCAP). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved.
• "I Get Money" contains elements from "Top Billin" (Robinson) Songs of Universal, Inc./First Priority Music (BMI)/Hot Buttermilk Music, Inc. (admin ICG Alliance) (ASCAP). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved. Performed by Audio Two. Produced under license from Atlantic Recording Corp, by arrangement with Rhino Entertainment company, A Warner Music Group company.
• "Come & Go" contains replayed elements from "Just Be Good To Me" (Jam/Lewis). EMI-April Music, Inc./Flyte Tyme Tunes, Inc./Avante Guarde Music Publishing, Inc. (admin by Universal Music Corp) (ASCAP). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved.
• "Movin On Up" contains elements from "Give Me Just Another Day" (Ware). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved. Almo Music Corp. Performed by The Miracles. Used by courtesy of Motown Records, Co, LLP. By arrangement with Universal Music Enterprises. "Do It Baby" (Perren/Yarian). Jobete Music Co, Inc. (ASCAP). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved. Performed by The Miracles. Used courtesy of Motown Records, Co, LLC. By arrangement with Universal Music Enterprises; "Nuttin But A Drumbeat". Performed by Russell Simmons. Used courtesy of Island/Def Jam Records. By arrangement with Universal Music Enterprises.
• "I Get Money" (Forbes 1-2-3 Remix) contains elements from "Top Billin" (Robinson) Songs of Universal, Inc./First Priority Music (BMI)/Hot Buttermilk Music, Inc. (admin ICG Alliance) (ASCAP). Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved. Performed by Audio Two. Produced under license from Atlantic Recording Corp, by arrangement with Rhino Entertainment company, A Warner Music Group company.

Personnel

• Producers – 50 Cent (exec.), Adam Deitch, Apex, Tha Bizness, Dangerous LLC, Danja, Detroit Red, Don Cannon, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Eric Krasno, Havoc, Jake One, DJ Khalil, Klasic from thebulletsproductionteam.com, Timbaland, Ty Fyffe
• Mixing – Demo, Doug Sadler, Dr. Dre, Mahal, Ms. Lago, Shameless, Steve Baughman
• Assistant mixer – Shameless, Veto
• Keyboard – Adam Deitch, Dawaun Parker, Detroit Red, Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mark Batson, Mike Strange, Tony Campana
• Guitar/bass – Eric Krasno
• Engineers – Veto, Alonzo Vargas
• Assistant engineers – Roomio

Chart history

Chart positions

Certifications

Chart procession and succession

References

External links

• Curtis at Discogs
• Curtis at Metacritic