February 6 In Hip-Hop History: 50 Cent Drops His Debut Album

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

Photo: Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope

True Hip-Hop fans can remember the first time they heard 50 Cent's major label debut. Commercial hits like "In da Club" and "Wanksta" had already made an impact on the culture, but the rest of the LP would live on to inspire a generation of MC's.

On February 6, 2003, 50 Cent released his first album Get Rich or Die Tryin' via Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope. The 19 track LP includes some of 50 Cent's most memorable records to date like "What Up Gangsta," "Many Men (Wish Death)," "If I Can't," "P.I.M.P," "Patiently Waiting" featuring Eminem and his other radio smash "21 Questions" featuring the late Nate Dogg.

Executively produced by Sha Money XL, top notch producers like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mr. Porter, Rockwilder, Megahertz and others all contributed beats to the album. In addition to Em and Nate, the album also features his childhood friends Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, who are the founding members of G-Unit. Young Buck, who's also featured on the album, officially joined the group later on ahead of the group's debut album Beg For Mercy, which dropped later on in 2003.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' went on to become one of the best albums of the 2000s. It debuted at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 while "In da Club" spent 22 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the end of 2003, the album had already been certified 6x platinum. It still reigns as 50 Cent's best-selling album 20 years later. In 2020, 50's vital LP went 9x platinum. The album also became the name of 50 Cent's biopic, which was released in theaters back in 2005.

Listen to Get Rich or Die Tryin' on iHeartRadio now!


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