50 Cent › Lyrics

You know how it's said that Eskimos have multiple words to describe snow? It's kind of like that for 50 Cent and acts of violence. Just about all of his songs describe a situation in which Fiddy: a) has shot someone; b) is about to... Read More

You know how it's said that Eskimos have multiple words to describe snow? It's kind of like that for 50 Cent and acts of violence. Just about all of his songs describe a situation in which Fiddy: a) has shot someone; b) is about to shoot someone; c) is threatening to shoot someone; or d) reminds us that he has been shot multiple times. If shooting is too much, he'll improvise: "Front on me, I'll cut ya, gun butt ya or bump ya," he rhymes on "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," the title track of his major label debut.

A prohibitive majority of Fiddy's songs boast of his violent past, present and future, and when he's not, his lyrics are boasting about sex or money. Often it's all of them at once, but usually the thug in him will dominate the words to his rhymes. On "Man Down," a particularly venomous song (censored on all versions of the CD) about cop killing, he starts rapping about murder, strays into sex, then catches himself: "Wait, I'm gettin' sidetracked, back to the story" -- i.e., the violence.

Surprisingly, 50 Cent's biggest hits have been some of his most innocuous songs. The words to "In Da Club," though, does give his rather bleak outlook on relationships ("I'm into havin' sex, I ain't into makin' love," he declares). On "Candy Shop," his treat for the girl is letting her "lick the lollipop." And "Disco Inferno" is simply a party song with lyrics about going to the club, where he says he'll "sip champagne and burn a little greenery." Of course, Fiddy's got businesses to run -- G Unit clothing, a video game, Vitamin Water and even a condom line -- so it's asking a lot for him to vary his lyrical game. After all, he just writes what he knows and takes the results, as the title of one of his tracks reminds us, "Straight to the Bank."