The rap on 50 Cent

Yesterday, Get Rich or Die Tryin' opened to less-than-rapturous reviews. The Jim Sheridan–directed drama stars rapper 50 Cent in his film debut as a street orphan who rises from the rank of drug dealer to hip-hop heavyweight. If this sounds familiar, it's because it's based on 50's life, which he recounted in his recent autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens (MTV Books). LJ never got the book—publishers, I fear, often mistake us for prudes—but based on the portions I've read online, the narrative, shock of shocks, tends to glamorize violence and celebrate greed. Just like 50's music, just like most commercial rap music—just like most popular culture, for that matter. The question of "appropriateness" for YAs came to mind, but it seems almost irrelevant given this pervasiveness. Librarians???—Heather McCormack