The Observer

Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Focus

Courtesy realhiphopsince79.com [Click to enlarge]

50 Cent comes up short with his latest release, Before I Self Destruct, despite a few stellar tracks featuring Eminem and production courtesy of Dr. Dre. [Click to enlarge]

As a man, Curtis Jackson III, better known as rapper 50 Cent, deserves nothing but respect. In March of 2000, living a life built on hustling drugs and rapping, Jackson was stabbed so fiercely that it collapsed his lung, only to be shot nine times two months later, putting him in the hospital for weeks. His journey out of the hospital took him from being blacklisted by the recording industry to Canada to record and release mixtapes and even back to selling drugs, before Eminem discovered him in 2001.

Despite the brutal upbringing and challenging foray into mainstream music, perhaps the most telling parable of Curtis Jackson comes from a 2003 interview with Rolling Stone, which was conducted on the heels of his colossal debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin'. His story was well known by that point, but a particular line offered an insight into a man who refused to die, and still kept talking. "On records, 50 projects a scary crack dealer, but among friends, the screw face drops. He's animated, a street-corner s--t-talker who knows where all the bodies are buried and knows no one can make him shut up." And suddenly it becomes clear: 50 Cent lives, works, and makes millions off one thing: his mouth.

With his fourth album, Before I Self Destruct, 50 Cent opens his mouth again, shooting for, as one of his producers put it, that "boom-bap hard-core gangsta stuff." 50 Cent has said himself that with Before I Self Destruct, he wanted to go "darker" and more "aggressive." These goals are clearly met from the get-go, as 50 huffs and puffs himself up in the opening track, "The Invitation," with lines like, "It's murder one when I toss my gun/you won't see s--- time the police come/just squeeze and squeeze till the whole clip's done."

It is a little off-putting to see such a hard, aggressive album from 50 because of his sarcastic public persona, one built on insults, skits and quips about rappers and hip-hop culture in general. That persona proves hard to divorce here. For every harsh song that 50 puts together, bits of his humor and little winks to the audience appear which show a very rich man, not as angry as he comes off. For example, his amusing impression of the Ying-Yang Twins in the second track, "Then Days Went By," almost completely undermines the serious, story-telling structure of the entire track.

With essentially no features on any of his songs, Before I Self Destruct is an open book for 50 Cent to showcase his skills as an MC, and frankly, he can't quite deliver. He employs a unique tactic of switching up his flows in the various songs, going rapid-fire in certain tracks, flowing consistently through others, while pausing and attacking in other bars. The strategy is interesting at first, but on repeated listens, it comes across as gimmicky, a way to hide some deficiencies in his rapping skills.

Jackson does have some interesting things to say, particularly in "When Days Went By," which is a nostalgic look at his drug-dealing days. "My uncle Champ on crack/smoke my f---ing stash up/I had 250 grand stashed on the porch/I mean how much you going to smoke man/I mean how much you going to smoke." The aggression and ferocious history of Jackson does hit home with the track "Strong Enough," but other tracks either are repetitive, lack wit or are just bad. "Get It Hot," featuring Lloyd Banks, is a perfect example of all three.

The track with Eminem, "Psycho," produced by Dr. Dre, almost carries the album to greatness single-handedly. It is a jaw-dropping piece of work, creating a claustrophobic sense of dread right from the get-go. "I can feel your heart beat you scared/ ya ya/I can feel your heart beat you scared," growls 50. When Eminem does come in, he takes over the song completely, spitting truly insane things that shouldn't be written, just listened to.

To conclude, it took 50 Cent three years to become satisfied with Before I Self Destruct, and the stretch of time does give the audience a few great tracks, tracks that are wonderfully produced, entertaining and full of insight. Furthermore, when Dr. Dre hops on to produce a track, such as with "Ok, You're Right," it is unquestionably going to be great, as his style of producing suits the voice and inflections of 50 Cent. However, aggressive or not, Curtis Jackson has the skills of an average MC, and Before I Self Destruct is evidence of that. It stands as a big-budget but slightly-above-average foray into hip-hop for 2009.

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