Named in honor of himself--Curtis Jackson, alias 50 Cent [ tickets ]--"Curtis" finds Fiddy living life to the max, hangin' with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Akon, Robin Thicke, Mary J. Blige and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger.

If anyone loves being a rap star, it's 50 Cent, his diamond smile behind every fat Hollywood blunt. But three albums in, 50 Cent may be proving that life in abject wealth may be too much for any real bad boy to take. While "Curtis" invariably offers some addictive pop tracks, too much of it sounds complacent and familiar.

Opener "My Gun Go Off" feels promising with its tense wall of intimidating beats, but it gets spoiled with canned, offhand lyrics: "Believe me/It's easy/I hurt you/ I murder you." Indeed, many of Fiddy's lines sound like gangsta Dr. Seuss: "When I smile/Your smile should be as big as mine/To know me is to love me/I'm one of a kind/Even when you hate me/You love me/Forever your mine," from "All of Me," another downright lyrical lowlight.

The saving tracks on "Curtis" show up on its second half. "Movin On Up" has a stalking-panther vibe and a quality hook--and 50 actually sounds like an MC who's into it. Later, "Curtis 187" offers the requisite life-story track, but it rolls like an old school Compton dice game. Overall, though, the quality on "Curtis" comes few and far between and a little too late.

You could argue that 50 Cent was never a wizard with the words--and you'd be right. But like all great rappers who don't write great rhymes, at least Fiddy made up for it with hunger, ego and charisma. On "Curtis," it sounds like the hunger is gone. Beyond the glamorous guests and machine-made hooks, 50 and his now-familiar tough talk and overcharged libido sound distracted. Fiddy, evidently, has found his satisfaction.