If I Can't

Dr. Dre produced "If I Can't" for 50 Cent's debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin', working with co-producer Mike Elizondo. The track was one of four songs on the album that Dre handled, and it was written by the rapper, Dre, and Elizondo together. Before the album came out, there was a serious debate over what the first single should be. Jimmy Iovine believed it should be the Dre-produced "If I Can't", while Eminem pushed for "In da Club". The decision deadlocked, so the choice went to 50 Cent himself, who quietly picked "In da Club".

The song eventually arrived as the album's fourth and final single, released in Europe and Australia on September 16, 2003 through Interscope, Shady and Aftermath Records. No physical single was issued in the United States, so it climbed to number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 through radio play alone, making it 50 Cent's weakest charting entry at that point despite being his sixth Hot 100 appearance.

The United Kingdom told a different story. There, the single reached number ten on the strength of physical purchases, and a limited-edition version came out as a double A-side paired with G-Unit's "Poppin' Them Thangs". The music video opened with a white man introducing 50 Cent, then moved into concert footage and documentary clips, with all the members of G-Unit appearing throughout. Its approach closely resembled the video for Eminem's 2003 single "Sing for the Moment".