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Before I Self Destruct
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Before I Self Destruct
Current price: $9.99
Barnes and Noble
Before I Self Destruct
Current price: $9.99
Size: OS
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Released without the usual flurry of hype,
Before I Self Destruct
fulfills
50 Cent
's contractual obligation to the
Interscope
label. It also doubles as a throwback album, returning the rapper to the hunger and hatred of his early mixtapes while skillfully recasting him as a wannabe upstart. That is, for the most part. The four radio-friendly bedroom numbers that conclude the album are out of place but fairly good to dime-piece beautiful, with the best being the
Ne-Yo
showcase "
Baby by Me
" ("Have a baby by me, baby/Be a millionaire"). As pleasing as these final numbers are, if you leave the room after the macho bruiser
"I Got Swag"
("I'm infinitely special/Girl the Lord is gonna bless you/If you do what I tell you to do"), you'll return to a confusingly different album, one that's as glamorous but less vital. The monstrous run of tracks that leads up to this flash and polish can be summed up by
50
's "This ain't
Tha Carter
/It's Sparta!," a witty, deceptive, and brutish line barked over a prime
Dr. Dre
beat during the great "
Death to My Enemies
." On the cut, the producer sounds like he's been digging on
RZA
, but the tension and dark-night feel he has created for "
Psycho
" is easily identifiable as
Dre
. Add an especially rapid
trading horror-show rhymes with
Eminem
and the
G-Unit
soldiers will testify that the Shady/Aftermath dream is still alive. While "
So Disrespectful
" is the perfect title for a song that shocks, stuns, and brings reminders of the gritty
G-Unit Radio
mixtape series at its best, the
Rick Rock
-produced "
Stretch
" is an even craftier balance of amoral and humorous as it references
Plastic Man
and
Mr. Fantastic
before explaining the profitable benefits of cutting cocaine. There are only three guest vocalists, and save a production credit for
Havoc
, the
posse is absent, and yet
is able to carry the album alone, sounding as inspired as he did on his
debut. That album,
Get Rich or Die Tryin
', beats this one thanks to its proper balance and structure, but
is still a fantastic juggernaut of a
album if you exit early, and a very good one even if you don't. ~ David Jeffries
Before I Self Destruct
fulfills
50 Cent
's contractual obligation to the
Interscope
label. It also doubles as a throwback album, returning the rapper to the hunger and hatred of his early mixtapes while skillfully recasting him as a wannabe upstart. That is, for the most part. The four radio-friendly bedroom numbers that conclude the album are out of place but fairly good to dime-piece beautiful, with the best being the
Ne-Yo
showcase "
Baby by Me
" ("Have a baby by me, baby/Be a millionaire"). As pleasing as these final numbers are, if you leave the room after the macho bruiser
"I Got Swag"
("I'm infinitely special/Girl the Lord is gonna bless you/If you do what I tell you to do"), you'll return to a confusingly different album, one that's as glamorous but less vital. The monstrous run of tracks that leads up to this flash and polish can be summed up by
50
's "This ain't
Tha Carter
/It's Sparta!," a witty, deceptive, and brutish line barked over a prime
Dr. Dre
beat during the great "
Death to My Enemies
." On the cut, the producer sounds like he's been digging on
RZA
, but the tension and dark-night feel he has created for "
Psycho
" is easily identifiable as
Dre
. Add an especially rapid
trading horror-show rhymes with
Eminem
and the
G-Unit
soldiers will testify that the Shady/Aftermath dream is still alive. While "
So Disrespectful
" is the perfect title for a song that shocks, stuns, and brings reminders of the gritty
G-Unit Radio
mixtape series at its best, the
Rick Rock
-produced "
Stretch
" is an even craftier balance of amoral and humorous as it references
Plastic Man
and
Mr. Fantastic
before explaining the profitable benefits of cutting cocaine. There are only three guest vocalists, and save a production credit for
Havoc
, the
posse is absent, and yet
is able to carry the album alone, sounding as inspired as he did on his
debut. That album,
Get Rich or Die Tryin
', beats this one thanks to its proper balance and structure, but
is still a fantastic juggernaut of a
album if you exit early, and a very good one even if you don't. ~ David Jeffries
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