December album in focus: 50 Cent "Before I Self-Destruct

Good album but I’m a bit bored listening to it. It feels like the same old - how he's going to pop some gangster because he fucked with him. 1 day he's going to end up saying how he's about to pop his Walmart delivery man… "I said green cap milk not blue, motherfucker"… If he's so far up his own arse, sorry, up the industry, how are the 'minnows' from the streets still getting to him?

Its a proper album though; its got the right formula, mix of tracks, flow and production only Dr. Dre can bring to the desk but with this being his 4th album (on Aftermath) I think I would have been more impressed if he had come with something totally left field like Kanye West did with 808’s… Although I don't think 50 has the same freedom to express himself as he's pigeon holed himself (all be it in a very large and successful 1) too much as this gun-slinging-my-pecs-are-made-of-teflon gangster rapper.

Tracks to watch: “Baby By Me” featuring Ne-Yo. Naturally smooth vocals from Ne-Yo that in my opinion no current singer can replicate or get near to, with 50 flowing perfectly over an R&B style beat that would make the most hardcore 50 fan nod and try something sweet in a club instead of the usual “oi oi my side, my side, I’m tryna chat to you babe, what you sayin?”.
“Do You Think About Me”. This is prob my favourite, think 21 questions from his Get Rich album but less romantic.
“Psycho”. This is the 5th track on the album and I had to reload again and again, I nearly forgot there was the rest of the album to listen to. Anything featuring Eminem is bound to be big (as Drake should know… if 'Forever' was a clash Eminem would have destroyed Weazy's, Kanye's and Drake's careers).

Lyric that caught me: on “Disrespectful”… “I'm international I'm never home maynn, I've been gone so long my accent's changed, you better watch who you fuck with mate" (all this in an English/cockney accent)

6/10