50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct – Chicago Sun-Times Review: 1/4 Stars

50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct – Chicago Sun-Times Review: 1/4 Stars

The expiration date for Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, was obvious from the moment he made his mainstream debut with “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” in 2002: No matter how strong your ear for catchy hooks and thumping beats, there’s only so much mileage you can get from the “baddest of the bad-ass gangstas” routine when we’ve heard it so many times before, especially when you have little to add besides endless prattle about how many times you’ve been shot and stabbed.

Fiddy tried to show a bit more range with “Curtis” in 2007, timed for a celebrated showdown on the pop charts with Kanye West’s “Graduation.” But you’ll recall that West won, commercially and artistically. The melodramatically entitled “Before I Self Destruct” actually was recorded before “Curtis,” but the “more personal” effort was swapped out for the darker disc at the last minute, and the 16 tracks here haven’t grown any fresher while sitting on the shelf for last two years as 50 Cent’s been busy selling vitamin water and courting Hollywood.

Damn, I didn’t even realize that BISD was in the can before Curtis. It def. sounds it. It sounds old and bland and washed out. Yawn. I agree with the review of 1 out of 4 stars.

Btw, I heard a 50 ft. Beanie Sigel track is dropping tomorrow.

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REST [of review]

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Permalink Posted in: 50cent, hip-hop, music November 12, 2009