Pop Shots – A Look At The Charts … From 12 Years Ago
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week I’m hopping into my time machine again, this time setting the coordinates for 12 years ago this week. As I step out of my time machine … holy heck 50 Cent is EVERYWHERE! I’m not exaggerating, folks, we may not have realized it at the time, but in 2005 it was 50 Cent’s world, and the rest of us were just living in it.
Need proof? Look no further than the Billboard Hot 100 from this week back in 2005. Judging by the chart, I don’t think a single radio station went ten minutes without playing a 50 Cent song. Even adult-contemporary stations probably went from Celine Dion to Fiddy.
So let’s get into this exploration in Billboard Hot 100 history. Of course, since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Did you know this song doesn’t actually have anything to do with candy? A shocking revelation, I know. Another fun fact, Olivia attended Hofstra for a bit, and was there at the same time I was! Sadly, I never saw her on campus.
As with all of 50’s early Shady Records work, the production on “Candy Shop” inspires cranking it up to high volumes. Lyrically, it’s more charisma over content, but hey, it hit number one, and it’s tough to knock what works.
I know I may be in the minority here, but I’ve always felt 50 Cent and The Game were at their artistic peak when they were working together. They seemed to bring out the best in each other when it comes to emceeing. “Hate It Or Love It” is a prime example of this, as they go back and forth trading stories about how they came up.
This isn’t the only collaboration of theirs on this edition of the Billboard Hot 100, because, “Hate It Or Love It,” Fiddy ruled this thing.
If you want to know how big 50 Cent was in 2005, “Disco Inferno” had a video so explicit it could only be shown on BET Uncut, with blurred out nudity (and included legendary adult film star Daisy Marie), yet the song was still a hit. Why? Because when a DJ threw it on crowds went nuts.
Fiddy knew how to make a party song, and “Disco Inferno” was a perfect party song. Oh, and the unedited version of the video was a feast for the eyes (hey, I’m a guy, sue me!).
“How We Do,” the second collaborative effort between 50 Cent and The Game on this edition of the Billboard Hot 100, features the two artists at their absolute best. Each one plays off of the initial verse of the other, formulating parts of their second verse based off of the flow of the other’s first verse. Whether or not you’re a fan of the lyrical content, from a writing standpoint it’s fantastic.
I have to admit when I saw this one listed at #51 I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember the song. Then I clicked play, and it all came rushing back.
“Just A Lil Bit” wasn’t one of Fiddy’s biggest hits, but it didn’t have to be. As we’ve seen, he was everywhere, so anything he released was going to receive airplay. When he spits, “Number one on the chart all the time, man,” he was simply stating, at least for 2005, an undeniable fact.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
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