Get Rich or Die Tryin'

50 Cent arrives on the scene with a ready-made hip-hop mythology in place: The first signing to Eminem’s Shady Records imprint has been shot, he’s been arrested, he’s got a feud with Ja Rule (whom he tussled with in a nightclub last year), and he was even roped into the investigation into Jam Master Jay’s murder (though he was never a suspect). He’s already got a big radio hit with the ever-present “Wanksta” and another on the way with “In da Club.” But everything about 50’s major-label debut feels a little too ready-made. There’s no denying the hooks on the aforementioned hits, or Eminem’s energetic guest shot on the ominous “Patiently Waiting,” but 50’s I-don’t-give-a-fuck lyrical bluster feels perfunctory and uninspired. The production is uneven and often predictable; even Dr. Dre seems to be falling back on tried-and-true formulas, with the eerie, minor-key piano progression that underscores 50’s Ja Rule dis “Back Down.” Elsewhere, it’s one bombastic synth orchestration after another for damn-near 70 minutes, by which time whatever angry-young-man charms 50 possesses have long since worn off.