I really wanted to listen to 50 like my cool friends in elementary school did. I was 5th grade and 10/11 when Get Rich Or Die Tryin' came out and my mom wouldn't let me listen to his shit hahahaha. I found my way around that system when I had one of the homies burn Get Rich for me to plop right into my iTunes(RIP). I also got a burned copy of his follow-up album The Massacre which I think is pretty underrated. Almost 15 years later and this is still my favorite off there.
Album cover for The Massacre
Source
I'm more a fan of beats and the way a person's voice sounds than actual lyrics, even in rap. I definitely respect well-thought out lyrics and intricate rhymes but I just err towards the overall sound recording. 50 and his production team knew how to fuckin mix and make his voice sound great with the instrumentals he was given. "A Baltimore Love Thing" has a depraved yet soul-warming beat coupled with lyrics ruminating on the struggle of heroin addiction, which is particularly bad in Baltimore.
She loves me, she loves me not
Yeah she loves me not
The fiends need me, I ain't around it, bones ache
Detox, rehab, cold sweat, watch 'em shake
I'm not that genie in a bottle, I'm in a bag
Take one hit, I slide off to the land of the H man
It hops back and forth from sounded like an analogy between 50 and heroin - painting it like a toxic relationship - and sounding like there's an actual toxic relationship he's in with a woman. The stress of the addiction and hardship of the relationship bleed into a potion of negative emotions...but it's propped up with this blissful beat just like the drug.
Now put that needle to ya arm princess, stick it in
Relapse you fat bitch, don't ever try that again
All that shit I did for you, I made you feel good
We have a love thing, you treatin' this like it's just a fling
What we have is more sacred than a vow or a ring
You broke my heart, you dirty bitch I won't forget what you did
If you give birth, I'll already be in love with your kids
Listen, I don't give a damn if your ass start smokin'
But we have a bond and it's not to be broken
We got a love thing where you try to leave me
But you need me, can't you see you're addicted to me?
We got a love thing, I can take you higher girl
Fin' with me, you can be all you can be*
I didn't buy an 50 cent albums after The Massacre but it sounds like I'm not missing much. People my age will always remember how invincible 50 cent was in that early to mid 2000's period. It seemed like he'd never fall from the top. Cue The Game and 300 Bars and G-Unit was RIP. The Game is still a force so he was the survivor of that war/era. 50 and the gang had some jams though and this is one of em lyrically and beat-wise
50 Cent - A Baltimore Love Thing