Embarking on his third full-length LP for Interscope, 50 Cent returns with Curtis. Originally titled Before I Self-Destruct, 50 changed the title of the album after a public bout with Cam’Ron. Cam made a dis song aimed at 50, where he taunted him with cries of “Cuuuuurrrrtis”, 50′s real first name. After becoming a running joke in the streets, 50 instead turned it back around on Cam, by embracing the “new” moniker and re-titling his album with it.

With a title like Curtis, one might assume that this, like say The Marshall Mathers LP, was a more in-depth look at 50 Cent’s persona. Maybe behind all of the oily muscles and bullet-scars there is a lost little boy that would show his face, on this deeply personal LP. For the first time, the doors to Curtis James Jackson III’s soul, would be opened for all to see…

Ah, no….not so much. Either 50 is the one-dimensional Guerilla he’s always claimed to be, or his muscley hide is so thick that we will never find what really lies beneath the sleeveless, diamond encrusted Curtis t-shirt. The themes that run on Curtis are broken down into three simple categories: sex, money, and murder. Not like this is a big surprise, those are the standard ingredients for any hip-hop LP these days, but we assumed at this point in his career we’d get something more. So while it is more of the same, we’ll take it for what it’s worth.

Despite his newfound wealth, 50 still carries the same thug mentality, suggesting he would throw it all away if the wrong person crossed his path at the wrong time. Making gangster music is what he does best, so it’s no surprise how effortlessly he spits his rhymes on the opening track “My Gun”, vividly describing six million ways to die. Akon helps him along on “I Will Still Kill” over a hollow, hypnotic head-nodder produced by DJ Khalil, again sending the same message that shit ain’t changed.

But, in reality, shit has. 50 is now a millionaire, a fact that he doesn’t try to hide on a pair of singles that almost act as East and West coast built versions of one another. “I Get Money” is the perfect, grimy NYC hustler anthem, borrowing a page from Audio Two’s “Top Billin’” (just when you thought it was no longer safe to do so), proclaiming “I run New York”, as he brags on his wealth. On the flipside is “Straight To The Bank”, which instead takes a note from Rappin’ Duke, sending more or less the same message as “I Get Money”, over a thumping Cali-flavored track, as 50 commands “now Blood walk to this, now Crip walk to this”. Here we see somewhat of a new side of 50 – what it’s like when a drug-dealer-turned-legitimate-(rapping)-business-man, gets filthy, disgustingly rich.

The “so seductive” side of 50 Cent shows up on almost half the LP, making it much more prevalent that on his previous albums. The best of these tracks is “Ayo Technology”, which draws its strengths from dynamic duo of Justin/Timberland, knocking a hit single right out of the park. Robin Thicke helps bring out the more sensitive side of 50 (just a lil’ bit) on “Follow My Lead”, which just sort of just breezes by with it’s mellow pianos. However, Mary J. Blige and Jake One help 50 create a true hood love song on “All Of Me”, which knocks in the tradition of songs like “All I Need To Get By” or “Around The Way Girl”.

The other crop of the dirty/sexy tracks doesn’t fare so well. “Amusement Park” is a lame, uninspiring rehash of “Candy Shop” with a circus theme behind it, while the perverse pair of “Peep Show” (feat. Eminem) and “Come and Go” (feat. Dr. Dre) leave longtime listeners disappointed, on what could have been better collaborations with his two business partners. The same can be said for the messy “Fire” (didn’t Lloyd Banks already do this song!?), which gives 50 an A-List guest list – Dr. Dre on the boards, Nicole Scherzinger on the hook, and Young Buck on guest vox – but just becomes a jumbled mess of five different, confusing hooks in this failed club effort.

50 may be rich – and ultimately it may have been his knack for balancing these various styles of music that got him there, but he’s at his best when he’s at his essence, doing grimy Queens rap shit. Jake One helps him channel his inner-drug dealer back to the forefront on “Movin’ On Up”, which sure to be banging in every New York hustler’s ride. Havoc also inspires him with a dark, breathy beat on the cocky “Fully Loaded Clip”, where he name-drops just about every rap romance, with lines like “Jay and Beyonce was mmm-mmm kissin’ / I was cooking up 1000 grams in the kitchen”. So from time to time, the album has its saving graces.

50′s latest isn’t the classic that Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ matured to be, nor is it the worthy follow-up that The Massacre was. It’s somewhere in the middle of the road. But in trying to please all of his various audiences, Curtis just barely self-destructs. – Pizzo