50 Cent, Before I Self Destruct
Producers: Dr. Dre, Red Spyda, Hi-Tek, Needlz
Leads: “Get Up” “I Get It In”
Quote: “I make it rain, till the sun come out
A nigga playin, we make the guns come out”
There is nothing more entertaining than a good MC with something to prove. After the lukewarm reception to G-Unit’s Terminate On Site and his lead single “Do My Thing” (great beat, but lyrics were just practice laps compared to his previous singles), Curtis Jackson’s 2008 is best known for beefing with Taco Bell and allegedly setting his baby mom’s house on fire. That isn’t the mark you want to leave when people you poke fun of (Kanye West and Lil Wayne) sell more records than you. So I’m sure Curtis is coming with both barrels blazing on his 4th solo CD and his last for Interscope Records.
As a testament to 50’s “going all out” mantra, he jacked the beat for his latest single “I Get It In” from his labelmate Eminem. The track is definitely catered to that “1 am and I just got in the club and I’m looking for the bar” feel. (Reminds me a little of “Ouchie Wally” for some reason, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear that.) Not sure what Em would have done with this so Fif was right to grab it. With this smooth, video-friendly re-introduction my bet is the rest of the CD is dripping with bravado. Titles like “Need Your Hate,” “Don’t Mess With 50” and “Bitch I’m Sorry” sound like 50 has clocked many hours playing his game Blood In The Sand.
My one hope is that 50 lives up to the title in other ways. It’s the first time in a while that he’s acknowledged that he could in fact lose it. It’s the first hint at mortality since his first CD, Get Rich Or Die Tryin. That title implied that his death was actually a possibility (however slim) and the intensity came across in the music. But for the next few CDs he rapped like the hunter instead of the hunted and ran out of targets one-by-one. Not so much because he killed them off, they (Fat Joe, Nas, Kanye, Lil Wayne, et. al) but no one really cared about a lyrical back and forth with Fat Joe or teasing Kanye about his clothes. Disinterest is a fate worse than death. So let’s hope that on this new CD 50 is selling us tickets to the biggest fight of his career, with himself.
Tentative Tracklisting for Before I Self Destruct
01. Intro
02. Came To Win (Produced by Red Spyda)
03. Get Up (Produced by Scott Storch)
04. Need Your Hate (Produced by Dr. Dre)
05. Here For A Reason (feat. Nate Dogg) (Produced by Tha Bizness)
06. Good To Be A Gangsta (Produced by Ty Fyffe & Sha Money XL)
07. Don’t Mess With 50 (Produced by Don Cannon)
08. Trust In Me (Produced by J.R. Rotem)
09. Norman Bates Motel (feat. Eminem) (Produced by Dr. Dre)
10. Bitch I’m Sorry (Produced by Needlz)
11. All For You (Produced by Hi-Tek)
12. No Time To Lose (feat. Swizz Beatz) (Produced by The Individuals)
13. Lonely At The Top (Produced by Play-N-Skillz)
14. You Need Us (feat. Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo) (Produced by DJ Khalil)
15. Different Path (feat. Dave Young) (Produced by Havoc)
16. I Get It In (Produced by Dr.Dre)
17. Somebody Forgive Me (Produced by Jake One)
18. My Reign (Produced by Eminem)
19. Ready For War (feat. Dr.Dre) (Produced by Dr. Dre)
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