50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct [2009]
Written by Big D
It’s 2010 and Curtis Jackson is the richest rapper in hip hop (moreso due to a deal with Vitamin Water than actual sales and ticket gates, although those were certainly factors). Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre were both incredible financial successes, the latter of the two critically acclaimed as the strongest album G-Unit ever released. When I say critically acclaimed, I mean acclaimed by me; which is all that matters.
On his hit single “I Get Money”, 50 confidently claims ”I’m a die tryin to spend this shit”. Now living in Mike Tyson’s old mansion with 15 bedrooms, 50 really has no reason to ever drop an album again. I felt 50’s hook-writing ability dwindled heavily on his last album (Curtis). 2009’s Before I Self Destruct is allegedly 50 Cent’s final album, one he had planned years ago. One can assume that, like Jay-Z, that 50 really just released it due to his love of rapping. I don’t think 50 Cent loves hip hop quite as much as Jay-Z does, but there’s certainly something there. While Curtis was a big let-down, Before I Self Destruct finds the Jamaica Queens native climbing back on the horse.
I’ve said this before but it’s worth repeating; if you buy or download a 50 Cent album and expect to hear some kind of introspective, morality-filled, conscious raps – you’re looking in the wrong place (and probably need a cat scan). 50 does not and never has made songs like that. 50 has always been about thumping production behind cautionary gangsta lyrics and gun-toting rhymes. In many cases – production CARRIES 50’s records, and on Before I Self Destruct, it can make or break a song.
As expected, there’s some weak sauce on this album, but man are there songs I absolutely love, so let’s get the whackburgers out of the way. “Invitation” is the weakest in a long line of album intros and can’t touch “What Up Gangsta” and “In My Hood”. “Strong Enough” suffers from a poor blend of production and rapping and winds up getting skipped more often than not. ”Get It Hot” has the same muffle-synth effects that “I Get Money” had, except it’s about half as good. The hook is about as lazy as 50 can get. “OK You’re Right” is another half-hearted effort. The production is epic, but 50’s phoned-in performance kills it.
Okay then, now to the good stuff.
There’s a plethora of bangers on Before I Self Destruct. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not this was the lead single since 50 releases so many of them at once, but “Crimewave” was pretty hot. Those thumping keys and drums provide the definitive “G-Unit” sound. “Stretch” is also another violent, head-bobbing banger. “I Got Swag” is a bonafied commercial rap track about coming out of your shell. The usual cliches about jewels, money, guns, etc are prevalent – but it’s a banger. Out of these, “Death to My Enemies” is classic material and is the definition of what all other 50 songs strive to be. Dr. Dre twangy chords and 50’s witty rhymes really shows just how great he can be if he’s focused, if the production is hot, and if everything comes together.
There are a few cuts on here that also show 50’s (limited) creative mind and break away from the thug-love and gangsta themes. Of course, what’s a 50 Cent album without a diss track to his enemies. 50 gets at Game on “So Disrespectful”, which is a fun song despite the 50/Game relationship being equal to that of a high school couple: break up, make up, break up, make up, break up, make up. “Psycho” is an interesting song because it features Eminem and rather than Eminem change his style to fit 50’s (something he’s done rather poorly since 2004), 50 decides to go horrorcore. As with Relapse, Em is back to form. “Gangsta’s Delight” is a modernized version of Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, with updated synthesizer production from Mobb Deep’s Havoc and 50’s street rhymes. Another fun song.
Those might all be fun efforts, but the absolute best stuff on the album is the “thug-love” tracks. Hate it or love it, 50’s ability to make songs about the opposite sex is where he really shines. The weakest of these would have to be “Hold Me Down”, which sounds sloppy and a tad bit immature. Then there’s the popular ”Baby By Me” featuring the most popular male R&B singer of 2009 – NeYo. It sounds a little too much like a retread of “Candy Shop”, but NeYo brings the goods.
However, you can’t fuck with “Do You Think About Me” and “Could’ve Been You”, two of the best songs of 50’s career and two I can relate to – both about women. The first covers a topic a lot of people deal with: memories of your ex. Lord knows your favorite reviewer has had this kind of relapse on numerous occassions. I guess you can see it as a sequel to ”“Best Friend”. Besides that, this is a great example of effective autotune (and I am NOT an autotune fan). “Could’ve Been You” is the complete other side of the spectrum, with Curtis confidently stating that it was HER loss. Sometimes you’ve got to love yourself more than you love somebody else in order to retain your sanity. I love how hip hop mouthbreathers dickride Slick Rick’s storytelling abilities, but quickly write-off 50 because he’s on MTV. This song is about moving on, something we all need to do but find a hard time doing.
Other than ”Do You Think About Me” and ”Could’ve Been You”, my absolute favorite song on Before I Self Destruct is the victory anthem “Then Days Went By”. Take “God Gave Me Style”, “So Amazing” from The Massacre and “Hustler’s Ambition” and you’ve got a delicious hip-hop burrito of Godliness.
After the unsatisfactory Curtis, it’s refreshing to hear a revitalized 50 on Before I Self Destruct. While no 50 Cent album is ever void of substandard moments, this one in particular tips the pro scale way overhead of the con scale. I still don’t feel his hooks are at the level that they used to be (The Massacre should be viewed by up and coming rappers as a How-To guide to writing hooks), they are more than acceptable on this LP. Pick this one up – before he self destructs.
3.75 Stars
