50 Cent – OK, You’re Right
He’s back, and this time he’s got a clown mask…
[Video][Website]
[4.31]
Jordan Sargent: Even in his current and seemingly endless degenerative state as a rapper, 50 does sneering braggadocio rap better than almost anyone in the game. His success with these types of songs is pretty textbook: no one wants to hear a tried and true rich asshole bragging about how rich he is, and no one in rap has put more effort into proving that he actually is a rich asshole than 50 Cent. In 2007 he salvaged his reputation with the ruthless “I Get Money”, but “OK, You’re Right” doesn’t even come close to matching that song’s menace. The song is mostly failed by its beat, one which encapsulates the latter career of its producer, Dr. Dre. It’s grand and shining, and it feels like a million bucks, but its emptiness is inescapable, like the marble lobby of an office building after dark. The “I Get Money” beat seemed to motivate 50; this one merely allows him to recline.
[5]
Erick Bieritz: Remember that time you were at the top of the staircase and you dropped a rucksack with two bowling balls inside, and they went thunk-thunk, thunk-thunk, pulling each other down in a two-note pattern that seemed sort of rhythmic at first but became increasingly monotonous as it went on? That’s what this sounds like.
[2]
Alex Ostroff: The first thing you notice is the beat. It’s majestic – the sort of track that announces its arrival, rolls out a red carpet and cues the choirs of archangels. If there were a beat that could announce the return of Curtis Jackson and somehow convince the world that they still cared, this would be it. Unfortunately, thirteen seconds in, 50 opens his mouth to let out tepid bragging about jewel-encrusted guns in limp sing-songy flow. The beat might overcome its rider to climb the charts, but I’m holding out for a Jeezy freestyle.
[5]
Martin Skidmore: The Dre production has some drama, but 50 Cent’s slightly behind-the-beat and droning voice doesn’t do much with it, his flow sounding particularly mechanical here, and the moments where he kind of sings are hopelessly lame. The lyric is standard-issue bragging, but I like the orchestral stabs in the music, so this still scores okay with me.
[6]
Dave Moore: Ah, Fiddy, sluggard, lumbering through tracks with a somnambulist’s grim determination! He wants to walk through brick walls, but it feels more like he’s slowly banging his head against one. Still, there’s a certain brute force to the whole thing that I kind of admire.
[5]
Al Shipley: After Curtis limped through one of the most embarrassingly prolonged campaigns of failed advance singles in an era virtually defined by album delays, you’d think 50 would be that much more focused on making sure Before I Self Destruct doesn’t suffer the same fate. Instead, this is his 3rd try, and every time he marches out of the fading Aftermath hit factory he’s that much further from hitting his mark. And I don’t think there’s gonna be another “I Get Money” around the corner to save the day, either.
[1]
Alfred Soto: Fiddy Fudd sounds as virile as Mick Jagger in “Emotional Rescue” mode.
[5]
Anthony Miccio: I know that “he sounds like he’s trying to take a shit” is a common rap critique, but this is genuinely the first time I’ve ever wondered if 50 Cent was trying to pass stool during a verse. Maybe it’s intentional, as otherwise there would be no way to tell this apart from his last few financial statements.
[4]
Chuck Eddy: His opening diction, as incongruously lispy and mincy as any hit opening diction since the Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz,” caught me by surprise. As did the goth-rock orchestrations and Insane Clown Posse mask. And those Mantronixy horn bleats keep things cooking. Otherwise 50’s just filler; I could use less of him, truth be told.
[5]
John M. Cunningham: The string arrangement here vaguely mimics the one on “In Da Club,” both in its rhythmic structure and its majestic air, but it lacks the eerie tension that made 50’s debut single stand out. Of course, it’s hard to find much spine-tingling excitement in a song dedicated to the art of shrugging capitulation; I know the man’s aloof, but give us some bite, dude.
[4]
Hillary Brown: Have I somehow grown nostalgic for Fitty’s brand of brassy, cold-eyed boasting, or is this just a better song than usual? I have to hope for the former or someday I’ll be looking back on a whole bunch of snap nonsense with fondness due to the progressive degeneration of the music scene, and that would be a sad development indeed.
[6]
Matt Cibula: A four is the most enthusiasm I can muster, but it is still probably my favorite 50 Cent single.
[4]
Anthony Easton: I want some mid-range R&B singer to go all melisma over Fiddy saying “OK, alright”, use it as a tight micro-sample. The four points are entirely for that possibility.
[4]