"People buy my music for the same reason they buy the newspaper," says Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in the production notes for Get Rich or Die Tryin'. "There isn't a lot of good in it, but... they want to know what happened." 50 Cent has made it his business to remind people—repeatedly and through myriad mediums—where he's coming from. Get Rich is his feature film debut, and it shows that this P. Diddy-of-all-trades has only started his commercial conquest.

From 8 Mile to Get Rich, cinematic storytelling is the newest cash-rich realm for rap stars. But while the Eminem biopic focused on Marshall Mathers's acerbic wit, 50's rocky road to stardom is littered with machine guns, crack whores, and drug mafias, along with a strong will to survive.

Directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot), Get Rich tells the story of the cash-hungry Marcus, who as a kid is unwilling to relinquish materialistic urges even after his drug-dealing mother is murdered. He shuns life with his poor grandparents for the street, falling into a crew of crack slingers. From there ensues a life of bloodshed—drive-by shootings, turf tortures, and, of, course, 50 taking nine bullets and coming back from the dead to rap about the experience. The movie exposes the most interesting details of 50's life—from how early he started rapping to how brazenly he baited his enemies in song. Sheridan reinforces details from 50's life with strong visual imagery, like mirrors vibrating from the bass in a booming car stereo.

While the movie isn't flawless—the female roles are especially stereotypical—Get Rich works as a suspenseful tale of street-entrepreneur-turned-marketing-goldmine, a story the savvy 50 Cent will keep reworking into infinity.