Utterly cynical hip hop - as manufactured as boy bands, Dre and Eminem show their hand in the video for In Da Club as they train 50 Cent to become the ultimate hip hop star. Take Reasonably charismatic guy with chiseled bod, throw down some heavy Dre beats, write rhymes for him about drugs and drink and hoes and slinging cocaine and partying and getting shot and threatening murder and boasting and bragging, package that up and sell to the masses. Boy, did it work. And as if evidence were needed that here was a guy of limited talent, totally made by others, each successive album sold worse than before as his star waned and the beats just weren't there and Eminem and Dre moved on to other things. 50 got rich, god bless him, and didn't need to die in the process. and yet... and yet, here I am bumping the album, rolling my eyes, thinking there are 1,001 better HIP HIP albums alone better than this, but there I am, joining in with the lyrics and nodding my head and remembering when this was all over the airwaves, playing all the time, and yes in the club and thinking... ...my god but the formula was GOOD.