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By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Monday, Jul 21, 2008
After losing his self-created promotional battle with rapper/producer Kanye West over which of their albums released on the same day would sell the most, 50 Cent seemed to be losing his grip on his title of king of the (mainstream) hard-core rappers.
And though the man born Curtis Jackson may be many things — vindictive, lyrically limited — when it comes to his business ''Fitty'' is no fool. So to reclaim ''the streets,'' 50 and his G-Unit crew, minus recently ousted member Young Buck, released a successful series of mix tapes and bootlegs that helped keep the faith of the core fan base.
Now, the trio returns to the mainstream charts with G-Unit's second official album. T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight) is an unabashed paean to the gangsta cliches of guns, expensive stuff and drugs that contains little originality in its subject matter. It does feature some head-nodding beats and will be considered a strong return to form.
To their credit, throughout the album's 16 tracks the Unit's members (now just 50, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, though Young Buck is a ''featured'' guest on four tracks) sound hungrier than they have in quite a while.
Specifically, 50 Cent, who seemed to be on mumble-mouthed autopilot for much of his Curtis album. He spits his verses with considerable energy and venom, and Tony Yayo, arguably the least talented lyricist of the group, has upped his game in terms of rhyme flow variation and lyrics.
Opening with Straight Outta Southside, a homage to N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton, the crew restates its credentials with Banks spitting about guys who ''talk gangsta but they ain't though / I'm a stormy night, you a rainbow.''
Next, the crew reminds listeners of its considerable drug-selling abilities in the metaphorical Piano Man (they move the keys, get it?). They woo the ladies in Close to Me with a chorus that goes in part ''I know you like European cars / take, take a look at my garage / . . .
There are good beats provided by big names, such as Swizz Beatz, who samples the horn kicks from Blood, Sweat, & Tears Spinning Wheel for Get Down, and up-and-comers, such as Jake One, who offers the sparse, ominous electric piano-laced beat for Ready or Not.
Adroitly, the album is short on pandering club jams. Thug love songs save I Like the Way She Do It, a corny bit of casual misogyny with a syncopated thump that will likely become a popular choice for pole dancers.
With its limited lyrics and worldview, T.O.S. is exactly what hip-hop fans who never tire of verse after verse of hyper-machismo, misogyny, criminal activity and materialistic obsession want. Even though there's little self-awareness or social context from G-Unit, the group delivers with gusto and focus. As such, the album is a success.
But for fans who have been listening as angry young black men lyrically shoot and kill each other for money, street cred and stuff since the late '80s — when N.W.A. discovered that the suburbs love a vicarious thrill — T.O.S. is just more of the same.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
After losing his self-created promotional battle with rapper/producer Kanye West over which of their albums released on the same day would sell the most, 50 Cent seemed to be losing his grip on his title of king of the (mainstream) hard-core rappers.
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