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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
50 Finally Comes Back With Some Quality Material, November 21, 2009
Since 2007, I have been very cautious when approaching any 50 Cent or G-Unit material. 50's last album, 'Curtis', was a flop even though it displayed impressive sales. Following this project, G-Unit released their sophomore album 'T.O.S.', which made 'Curtis' seem like a classic...and that's not saying much. 50 then started to release material for his fourth album. His first single, 'Get Up' didn't even manage to make an impact as his other singles did. The song itself was mediocre at best. He then released 'Get It In' which was didn't even seem like an attempt at all. My faith in his fourth album began to diminish. I had little hope for the G-Unit General who seemed to be losing his form.
Surprisingly, after months of very little promotion and chart success, 50 Cent releases 'Before I Self Destruct' . It seemed to have gone under the radar, because even I had lost track of the album's release date, and I had been anticipating this album for quite some time. So, what will fans get from 50's fourth album?
Let me start off by saying that this album is on par with 'The Massacre', and it can definitely be considered his second best album to date. What 50 has managed to do is get back to doing what he does best...gangster rap. It's as simple as that. The album gives off a very hard-core New York underground vibe, and it works well with the album's overall concept. Some of the tracks are equivalent to the mix-tape material he has been putting out in recent years, which has always been better than a majority of his commercial releases. This is one of the most appealing things about the album, because it minimizes the 'commercial' aspect of the material.
Production wise, the album doesn't disappoint. The instrumentals are grimy and give off a very hard-core, rugged feel. It seems as if 50 decided to stick with beats that give off an underground vibe to them, which works well with the lyrics he's written for the album. Some of the production, however, is a little off, specifically with the R&B tracks which deal with women. The album has such a hard-core feel to it that any R&B track on the album automatically feels out of place. Why he decides to put these lovey-dubby/sex songs on a gangster rap album is beyond me. This is exactly the type of commercialization I was hoping to avoid when hearing the album. But not to worry, the album is 16 tracks long, and only 3 are dedicated to the women out there.
The lyrics are what make this album such an improvement from his previous releases. 50 comes at us with a lot more punch-lines, wit, and a lot more melodic flows that makes every track very distinctive from one another. You'll laugh at some of the play on words he uses in Gangsta's Delight (a spin-off Rapper's Delight), So Disrespectful, Crime Wave, Psycho (Feat. Eminem) and Strong Enough. This album does prove that 50 is able to write some good material, and I hope he sticks with his formula from here on out.
The album also manages to come with 50's low budget film 'Before I Self Destruct' on DVD. 50 wrote, directed, and acted in the film. Now, this film isn't great by any means. It would take me an entire different post to review this movie. Overall, it's very weak. Some of the acting is almost laughable at times, but some performances weren't that bad. The execution is very poor, and you really can't get into any of the characters. The story, however, did have potential and I see what he was going for when he wrote it. 50 is a talented writer, but the story is lost in the film's poor execution. The film overall is hilarious...and that isn't a good thing, especially with the subject at hand and the plot being very serious. But you can't help but laugh at the movie...Lloyd Banks plays a school-teacher...it doesn't get funnier than that.
The overall package of the album, however, is solid. What fans will get is an impressive release from a rapper whom I thought was falling into the demise of his musical career. We get material that's on par with 'The Massacre' in quality, and even surpasses it at times. This is definitely his second best album since 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' back in 2003. It's a shame it wasn't promoted as much, but I guess that adds to the underground feel of the album. It does have minor weaknesses, such as stupid R&B songs with commercial production (but there's only three of them in total out of sixteen tracks). The film is also pretty weak, but that doesn't necessarily take away from the album itself since he didn't even need to add the movie in the first place. Fans will definitely appreciate this release, so it's highly recommended.
Overall Rating: 8/10
*Note: The promoted singles 'Get Up' and 'Get It In' did not make the final cut of the album.*
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Album Is Solid!, November 20, 2009
This album is awesome and worth checking out, if your familiar with his unreleased "Power of the Dollar" album, and "Guess who's back" this album is very reminiscent of those. "Get rich or die trying" was his breakout album for the mainstream "the massacre" had more club bangers, and was more appealing to the ladies, "curtis" was his experimental album, and "before I self destruct" is a throw back to the beginning. As I long time listener of 50 cent music, this album gets my seal of approval and is worth a purchase...included with this album is a raw film about street life. Don't take my word for it, just find some way to listen to it.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a comeback, but not terrible., November 18, 2009
Fanboys will listen to "Before I Self Destruct" and proclaim that 50 has returned. Detractors will listen to it and say that it's more of the same. The truth is that the album is somewhere in the middle, displaying elements of both at different times.
Fifty's flow has definitely improved on this album. While there are a couple of rhymes that will make you cringe ("I got more guns than a gun store", "When I say I'm ballin' I'm not talking `bout a ball"), for the most part, 50 has responded pretty well to those who say his flow fell off. His flow on "Psycho" is some of his best.
As far as the content of the lyrics, 50 is at his best when he's talking about something specific. In the beginning of "The Invitation," he talks a little about the specifics of when he was shot. In "So Disrespectful," he disses Game and Young Buck. When he's actually rapping about a specific topic, you hear the cocky candor that we've all come to love about him. Unfortunately, there are a lot of times when he falls back into making vague threats against anonymous foes while bragging about money and cars. Those are the moments when I find myself pressing "Next" on my CD/MP3 player.
As an aside, rappers need to figure out that personifying a gun as in "Hold Me Down" or drugs as in "A Baltimore Love Thing" off "The Massacre" has been done to death. Nas and 2Pac were original in the 90s when they did it, but it's played out now. Please stop.
The beats themselves range from great to just stupid. The beat on "The Invitation" is raw and grimy, and that song is one of my favorites. Same for "Crime Wave." Even though it's the album's "chick song", "Do You Think About Me" is probably the standout track on the album. The beat is slow and grooving, 50's flow is good and he's actually talking about something interesting. On the flip side, "Get It Hot" is probably the weakest track on the album. It is lyrically and musically so similar to "Fire" from the previous album that it can't be coincidence.
In all, I wouldn't call this album, nor would I call it terrible. It's that same middle-of-the-road fare that we've seen this year, from "Relapse" to "The Blueprint 3". Nothing on these albums is terribly bad, but these rappers are definitely not pushing the boundaries of their careers, either.
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