The Massacre

The Massacre has a music video for every track (with the exception of "Gunz Come Out") on the special edition version of the album. The original title for the album was revealed as St. Valentine's Day Massacre and was arranged to be released on February 14, 2005. However it was postponed, and the album title was shortened to simply The Massacre. The censored version of the album censors out most profanity, violence, and all drug content. The track "Gunz Come Out" has inconsistency in the editing, and contains some profanity. The opening track "Intro" removes the shooting sequence, and is cut down to 20 seconds. In comparison, the album is not as heavily censored as his previous album Get Rich or Die Tryin', but it is still a very highly censored album ranking in severity with albums such as Jadakiss' Kiss tha Game Goodbye (2001), along with Tony Yayo's Thoughts of a Predicate Felon (2005) and Nas' Stillmatic (2001).

The Massacre sold 1.15 million copies in its first four days of release, becoming the 6th-largest opening week for an album at the time since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.[1] This is the third best opening week for a hip hop album, behind Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), which sold 1.76 million copies in its 1st week, and The Eminem Show which sold 1.32 million copies in its 1st week.[2] As of 2015, the album has sold 5.36 million copies in the United States and 9 million worldwide.[3][4]

In 2005, The Massacre was ranked as the number one album of the year on the Billboard 200.[5]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	66/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Blender	[8]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[9]
The Guardian	[10]
Los Angeles Times	[11]
NME	8/10[12]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Spin	B−[15]
The Village Voice	A−[16]

The Massacre received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds a score of 66 out of 100 at Metacritic.[6] Vibe magazine found it "full of finger-pointing panache" and wrote that "50 delivers a taut, albeit less explosive, album aimed at both silencing his detractors and keeping the ladies satisfied".[17] NME observed "a new depth to the murderous lyricism" from 50 Cent on the album.[12] Greg Tate, writing in The Village Voice, said that, like Tupac, 50 Cent is "a ruffian who knows the value of a good pop hook", and called The Massacre "the most diabolically sensous collection of baby-making gangsta music since Pac's All Eyez."[18] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times found the album to be "nearly as addictive as its predecessor" and called 50 Cent "a crafty songwriter, specializing in obvious but nearly irresistible tracks that sound better the more you hear them."[19] In his review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said that 50 Cent's "ugly gangsta lies" are "incidental to the mood of the piece, which is friendly, relaxed, good-humored, and in the groove."[16]

In a mixed review, Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said that, although its strengths lie in 50 Cent's "dark charisma" and "fluid delivery", the album is marred by flaws typical of "big rap releases: At nearly 78 minutes, it's far too long, wildly uneven, and not particularly cohesive sonically or thematically."[20] Uncut magazine wrote that, despite 50 Cent's "cool menace", "not even tight productions from Eminem and Dre can stop things from flagging midway."[21] Lynne D. Johnson of Spin felt that it lacks "originality" and makes artistic concessions: "He's tryin' too hard to be everything to everybody."[15] In a negative review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis panned him as a lyricist and felt that the album lacks "any of the factors that make the best gangsta rap disturbingly compelling ... There's nothing except a string of cliches so limited that repetition is unavoidable".[10]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer.
• "Intro" is excluded from the 2006 France edition.[25]

Sample credits[26]

• "Intro" contains elements from "What Up Gangsta" performed by 50 Cent.
• "This Is 50" contains elements from "Things Done Changed" performed by The Notorious B.I.G..
• "I'm Supposed to Die Tonight" contains vocal samples of "Vocal Planet" performed by Spectrasonics.
• "Gatman and Robbin'" contains replayed elements from "Batman Theme" composed by Danny Elfman.
• "Candy Shop" contains a sample of "Love Break" performed by The Salsoul Orchestra (uncredited).
• "Outta Control" contains an interpolation from "Set It Off" performed by Strafe.
• "Ski Mask Way" contains elements from "What Am I Waiting For" performed by The O'Jays and resung elements from "Cell Therapy" performed by Goodie Mob.
• "A Baltimore Love Thing" contains elements from "I'll Be Waiting There for You" performed by The Dells.
• "God Gave Me Style" contains elements from "Each Day I Cry a Little" performed by Eddie Kendricks.
• "I Don't Need 'Em" contains elements from "Nobody Knows" performed by S.C.L.C.

Credits for The Massacre adapted from Allmusic.[27]

• List of number-one albums from the 2000s (UK)
• List of number-one albums in 2005 (New Zealand)
• List of number-one albums of 2005 (Ireland)
• List of number-one albums of 2005 (U.S.)

• The Massacre at Discogs (list of releases)