[Tyrael]

At least that is the way it seems after his release of "Curtis," which features songs "I Get Money" and "Straight to the Bank." Compared with his mega seller "The Massacre," "Curtis" falls short of the previously established standard, both economically and musically.

Problems on the charts during the past few years have brought rash actions from the hip-hop industry as it fights to save a supposedly dying branch of artistry. Albums such as this one are not helping the cause.

For much of 50 Cent’s essentially self-titled album (his real name is Curtis Jackson), monotony takes a dominant role, for track after track leaves the listener bored with his lack of artistic exploration.

The surprising aspect of this album is not the aforementioned blandness but the limited number of single-worthy songs. Any hip-hop artist, especially one whose name is as widespread as 50 Cent’s, likely would emphasize the production of music viable for play via ringtones and other easily accessible media. Instead, the only attractive layers within this record feature guest artists Justin Timberlake, Akon, Eminem and Mary J. Blige.

After playing the album multiple times, listeners will notice the songs start to feel as if they were forced into production for the sake of the mighty dollar. Perhaps this somehow ties into the publicity stunt: "50 vs. Kanye," but for the time being it seems as though much frustration lies with the former. Not only has 50 Cent said he has become upset with his label Interscope, but also the album artwork shows a rapper who obviously has issues.

"Curtis" is not so different from past 50 Cent albums that creative marketing and production could not boost sales, so it hard to determine who is to blame for the state that 50 Cent finds himself in. Regardless, the album causes listeners to feel as though 50 Cent’s career has taken a step or two in a less-desired direction.

Given the history of rap and hip-hop, it is hard to predict what result "Curtis" will produce, but speculation says changes are most definitely in the making.

A year ago, Nas reminded us that "hip-hop is dead," and unless influences like 50 Cent can stir up the necessary studio magic that is missing in "Curtis" to revive the fading genre, it might not be too far off to say the next trip this rapper makes "to the bank" will be mortgage-related.

If the mainstream Hip Hop dies then that means that they will need to completely change the style of their Rappers. So they will probably look back when Hip Hop was good and then bring in some Rappers influenced by that time.