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Candy Shop

Scott Storch's Middle Eastern groove with Olivia, nine weeks at number one.
50 Cent, from The Massacre (2005)

Written by
50 Cent, Scott Storch
Released
2005
Album
The Massacre

The second single from The Massacre featured Olivia and was written by 50 Cent with the producer Scott Storch, who drew on Middle Eastern music and sampled The Salsoul Orchestra's Love Break. Of the lyric, 50 Cent said he tried to be as sexual as possible, from a male perspective, without being vulgar or obscene.

Debuting at 53 on the Hot 100, it reached number one in its fifth week and stayed there nine straight weeks, his third number one. It finished 2005 at number eight and was certified five times platinum by the RIAA in 2023. It topped the chart in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland and reached number three in Australia. Jessy Terrero directed the video in Hollywood on 11 and 12 January 2005, with Olivia as lead dancer and cameos from Lil Scrappy, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck. It was nominated for best male video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, losing to Kanye West's Jesus Walks, and passed a billion views on YouTube on 6 November 2024.

Reviews were mixed. Several critics thought it a retread of Magic Stick, his 2003 song with Lil' Kim, and it lost the best rap song Grammy to Kanye West's Diamonds from Sierra Leone. Weird Al Yankovic put it in his polka medley Polkarama! in 2006, The Baseballs recorded a rockabilly version in 2011, and Pop Smoke's The Woo, produced by 50 Cent, interpolates it.

Covers and versions

More songs by 50 Cent

In da Club, 21 Questions, P.I.M.P., Many Men (Wish Death), Ayo Technology

Sources

  1. Candy Shop (50 Cent song), Wikipedia
  2. The Massacre (album), Wikipedia