IMHO 50 ripped everyone off for his album.
Weeks before the release, everyone was salivating over Candy Shop and Disco Inferno, songs that, I must admit, have a very good beat to dance to as well as catchy lyrics... That is what makes a rap song that sells well.
When I ended up getting the album, I was very disappointed. First of all, after a first listen, it sounded botched. Most songs had half-ass lyrics with a beat that seems to have been put together by some dre-wannabe... Undoubtedly, Candy Shop and Disco Inferno were the best-sounding songs in the whole album.
Of course there are 2 or 3 other songs which are okay on the album, but still not as good as the first two (Get In My Car, Just a Lil Bit, My Toy Soldier)
This defeats the purpose of having an album... Since we're on Sosuave, let me make a parallell with DJ'ism. Going out on a date with a girl is like listening to a first single on the radio. If you like it at first, you will be tempted to go on more dates. Now if the girl plays her cards right, she will make you wait until you have proven yourself enough so that she lets you have sex with her. Now the dates during that buildup make the ride very worthwhile, but the sex really is the fruit of all your labor, and the only worthwhile activity (I'm being a little extreme though... this is just for comparison purposes). We can compare sex to the best songs in the album that haven't been discovered yet, like in Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was chock full with songs I liked... after only one listen, I felt like listening to every single song 3 or 4 times in a row.
However, with The Massacre, 50 Cent gave up his cherry on the first date! The point in having an album is defeated Which makes it useless to follow-up after that.
Take my advice, if you like mainstream rap, forget The Massacre. It'll flop faster than Michael Jackson's defense.