50 Cent spent 9th week at #1 with “In Da Club”

In Da Club 50 Cent

Writer(s): Curtis Jackson, Andre Young, Mike Elizondo (see lyrics here) Released: January 7, 2003 First Charted: December 28, 2002 Peak: 19 US, 14 RR, 19 RB, 3 UK, 15 CN, 15 AU, 16 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.05 UK, 2.86 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 1187.24 video, 704.38 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Getting riddled with nine bullets would be a game changer, usually not for the better. As a former drug dealer earning a reputation for his mix tapes on his way toward rap stardom, however, such events only add to the lore of Curtis Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent. He didn’t just survive, but parlayed his gangsta cred into a blockbuster career under the tutelage of two of the genres biggest stars – Eminem and Dr. Dre. After a failed stint with Columbia Records, his Em and Dre-backed Interscope debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, stormed out of the gates with a whopping 872,000 first week sales. The only rapper to post a bigger debut? Eminem. SF The album jumped out to such a prominent start on the back of lead single, “In Da Club.” The song, which became the biggest selling single of 2003, TB was such a big hit that in clubs, DJs often had to play it twice in a row. SF The club has taken on a “mythic aura…in modern pop music, as a sort of hyperreal space in which all desires are satisfied, all bodies are beautiful (and available), and everything and everyone exists for the sake of the person making the song…Fiddy’s rhymes approach the club from a tough-guy street pose, but Dre’s polished, expensive beat and the very lack of urgency in his voice betray him: he’s just another rich asshole in paradise.” DS Ironically, the “hook [was] so chunky and flat-footed, it was hard to dance to.” NPR’09 The song marked “the joyful, playful start of a depressing era of party rap somewhat akin to the hair metal…of the ‘80s.” NPR’09 That beat, which “could fairly be called harsh or elegantly spare,” ID “helped set off the ringtone craze.” ID The song’s “infectious chant” TB “go shorty, it’s your birthday” “has now become standard drunken-birthday-party fare,” TB but 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell wasn’t feeling so celebratory; he sued 50 Cent for borrowing the line from his group’s 1994 song “It’s Your Birthday.” SF The song’s “success was evident by the number of songs it spawned. Beyoncé did a version (“Sexy Lil’ Thug”) with lyrics adjusted to be about a girls’ night out. Mary J. Blige recorded “Hooked” with P. Diddy, using the beat from “Club.” Similarly, Bubba Sparxxx did “In the Mudd” and Cadillac Tah did “There’s a Snitch in the Club.” SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for 50 Cent DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Dr. Dre DS Don’t Stay Up Too Late (10/31/09). “100 Songs of the 2000s” ID Idolator.com (11/23/09). NPR’s Songs of the Decade from Boy Bands to “Single Ladies”. By Becky Bain. NPR’09 NPR.org “The Decade in Music: ‘00s” (11/12/09) RS’09 Rolling Stone (12/9/09). “Songs of the Decade” SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 304. Related Links: Last updated 4/11/2023.

Eminem “The Real Slim Shady” released

The Real Slim Shady Eminem

Writer(s): Marshall Mathers, Andre Young, Tommy Coster, Melvin Bradford, Mike Elizondo (see lyrics here) Released: April 18, 2000 First Charted: May 5, 2000 Peak: 4 US, 12 GR, 15 RR, 11 RB, 19 MR, 11 UK, 6 CN, 11 AU, 9 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 1.8 UK, 10.37 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1029.13 video, 1391.24 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After the independently released Infinite in 1996, Eminem released his first major-label album The Slim Shady LP in 1999. It reached #2 on the Billboard album chart and went five-times platinum. It set him up for an even more massive follow-up with 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP, which hit #1 and sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. The album’s lead single, “The Real Slim Shady,” gave Eminem his first top-ten hit in the U.S. and first #1 in the UK. He went on to top the UK charts with “Stan” and “Without Me” before finally topping the Billboard Hot 100 in America with “Lose Yourself.” The Los Angeles Times called it “a modest step to the mainstream – a fresh and funny, almost PG-rated swipe at everything from the Grammy Awards to shallow teen pop.” WK Eminem was intentionally courting controversy with the song to get publicity and sell more records. SF The song came about because Interscope record executive Jimmy Iovine wanted a song to introduce the album similar to how “My Name Is” had done so for The Slim Shady LP. Eminem and Dr. Dre and others wrote the song just hours before the final copy of the album was due. WK Until then, “Who Knew” was intended as the first single. WK The video went a long way in promoting the song. Eminem played up his Slim Shady character and mocked his signature bleached-blond hair look with “a troop of young men with blond hair dressed like Eminem.” SF He also wears a superhero costume and “slams his enemies with comic book intensity.” WK It won the Video of the Year at the MTV Music Video Awards. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 6/25/2023.