6 million copies sold!
On February 6th, 2003, 50 Cent released his first album Get Rich Or Die Tryin under the watchful eye of Eminem’s Shady Records and Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. The project earned instant acclaim and sold over twelve million copies in a single year. At the time a feat of the magnitude was only urban folklore, until Fiddy!
Released fifteen years ago to this day, Fif’s second album was met with much of its predecessor’s commercial success — yet not nearly as much of its critical acclaim. Looking back, it makes total sense, how much strife hip-hop heads gave him in regards to the sophomore submission. Where Get Rich’s hits felt original — particularly the club banger “In Da Club” — The Massacre seemed like a factory for “radio” singles.
The shadow of Get Rich was simply that powerful. Yet fifteen years after its premiere, it feels overdue when calling The Massacre a classic.
It’s a testament to his songwriting skills that “Candy Shop” and “Just A Lil Bit” are in heavy rotation today. Not to mention the fact that ‘The Massacre’ is sitting pretty at 6X platinum, with Diamond status around the corner.
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