Songoftheday 3/26/24 - Now shorty she in the club she dancin' for dollars, she got a thing for that Gucci that Fendi that Prada...

 

 

"P.I.M.P." - 50 Cent

from the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 21

 

Today's song comes from rapper 50 Cent, whose debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' had already spun off a pair of huge #1 pop crossover hits with "In Da Club" and "21 Questions" (a third preceding single, "Wanksta", was also included as a bonus track). His next single promoted to radio was a revamp of the album cut "P.I.M.P.". Written by 50 Cent (under his given name Curtis Jackson) with producer Denaun Porter, the lyrics have him painting himself in the titular vocation, even though he doesn't "look" like it. It throws out lines like "I ain't that nigga tryna holla 'cause I want some head, I'm that nigga tryna holla 'cause I want some bread" but then follows it up with "hit that track, catch a date, and come and pay the kid!". Classy. The mix done for the single and video includes rapper Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and now-"elder" statesman Snoop Dogg, with the latter stooping low to include that you should "Doggy style in your mouth for the 2003" before going full-pimp-mode. Lloyd Banks and Young Buck from 50's backup group G-unit throw in a couple unmemorable verses as well. The production emphasized a steel drum to attempt to jump on the reggaeton train that's in full swing. The music video features 50 Cent applying to what seems to be the pimp hall of fame before a mushmouthed Snoop...

"P.I.M.P." climbed into the top 3 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in August of 2003, while spending two weeks at #2 on their R&B Singles chart and took two weeks at #1 on the Rap Songs list. On the radio, the song peaked at #9 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, topped the Mainstream R&B airplay list for two weeks, hit #2 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format, and even made the Dance Airplay chart at #24. Internationally, the single reached the top ten in Australia (#2), New Zealand (#2), Romania (#2), Ireland (#4), Norway (#4), Switzerland (#4), The United Kingdom (#5), Germany (#5), Denmark (#5), Hungary (#7), the Netherlands (#8), Sweden (#8), Italy (#10), Finland (#10), and Belgium (#10 Flanders/#19 Wallonia). It also hit the top-40 in Austria (#12), Canada (#18 Sales), and France (#25). 

 

A fourth (or fifth, if you're counting "Wanksta") single, "If I Can't", started to get airplay before even "21 Questions", and ended up going to #76 on Billboard's Hot 100 that fall, as well at #34 on the R&B Singles chart.  The Get Rich album opener "What Up Gangsta" also got enough urban radio airplay to climb to #28 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, while "bubbling under" the Hot 100 at #101. 

50 Cent, and for that matter Snoop Dogg, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck will all eventually be back to the series.

(3/10)

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Here's the original 50 Cent-only version of "P.I.M.P." from the original album. The remix would be included tacked on to the re-release later on...

Next up the rapper live in Europe in 2003...

and lastly doing the Jonathan Ross show in the UK...

Up tomorrow: This certified soul-boy loves the Levi's.