50 Cent's hotly anticipated debut might nab fans through insult-laden boasts and polished production, but his mayhem filled past is more fascinating than any tune he's crafted. He first gained notoriety and rap game enemies with 1999's audacious "How To Rob," where he imagined pilfering pockets of rap kingpins. The following year, he nearly got bumped off when his body resembled a human colander after an assailant shot him nine times.

Remarkably, he recovered and shrewdly built enough mixtape buzz to land a second major record deal and a million-dollar advance from suitors Dr. Dre and Eminem. Though his couplets might not bustle with vigor, his debut's got enough superbly slick thug anecdotes to easily hit platinum sales. Dr. Dre's slow rollin' keyboards match 50 Cent's measured flow and sound cooler than an ice cream truck on "In Da Club." Eminem also proves beat worthy on "Don't Push Me," where 50 Cent's bejeezus scaring chorus includes firearm blasts and empty shells tumbling. Taunting his nemesis with a hilariously vulgar tongue, the disses hurled at Ja Rule on "Back Down" are mostly unrepeatable.

"I gotta make it to heaven for goin' through hell," 50 Cent cries on "Gotta Make It To Heaven." This former drug hawker will likely be denied at the Pearly Gates with reckless talk like, "Summertime is the killing season/It's hot out this [expletive]/That's a good enough reason" on "Heat." While 50 Cent's endeavor might be sans conscience, these authenticated gangster tales just can't be passed up.