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Album Review
by A. N. Omega-man
17-11-2003
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| G-Unit: 50 Cent with a coupe of bros |
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G-Unit: 'Beg For Mercy'
(G-Unit/Interscope)
G-Unit: 50 Cent’s other livelihood
50 Cent, protégé of Dr Dre and Eminem, emulates the latter and forms a group with his friends to give them a boost the D-12 stylee. G-Unit are 50’s posse of friends but this is certainly seen as the second album by the man who sold 8 million of his debut disc, ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’’. But, 50 is such a hot property now that the release date has had to be brought forward due to ‘Beg For Mercy’ being leaked onto the ‘Net.
It’s almost become a badge of honour - to be so popular that people will do anything to get hold of music and at any price… Or, preferably - freely downloadable. Unfortunately, the online-availability of the album coincided with another big album release, its date moved forward for the same reason, and then the 8th posthumous release by a Hip-hop legend got in their way up the charts. G-Unit could only manage third place of the US album list [with 377,000 sales], behind 2Pac Shakur’s ‘Resurrection’ and the all-conquering, Jay-Z’s final, ‘The Black Album’ notching 463,000 unit-shifts.
Still, that’s not the point. 50 Cent has amassed millions of dollars this year from sales of his debut disc that outsold many record labels’ entire 2003 output. Thus, no surprise that some of the G-Unit’s ‘Beg for Mercy’ centres on enjoying the spoils of his wealth. But 50, Young Buck and Lloyd Banks are doing anything but ‘bling-hunting’ through their first group effort. They’re staying in the streets like parking enforcers.
The reality is guns, gun-fire and some more guns; thus, that ‘G’ may as well be standing for guns as well as for ‘guerrilla’ and ‘gang‘. 50’s chorus on ‘My Buddy’ is pure ode to Chuck Heston’s favourite toy, i.e. Oozy. Then he goes on to dropping stories about causing bedlam in every ‘hood they visit on ‘Poppin’ Them Thags’; their toughness is celebrated on ‘G’d Up’, but there are ‘lighter’ moments when 50 tells a girl she looks like somebody he had sex with on tour before.
Dr. Dre provides variety of beats, either mixed with guitars on ‘G’d Up’ or piano on ‘Poppin’…’ G-Unit member Tony Yayo, currently in jail on a gun-possession charge, makes two album bows: ‘Groupie Love’ and classic-like underground boiler ‘I Smell Pussy’. 50 has a solo rhyme called ‘So Hood’ on the LP where he calls out some of his neighbours names and describes their deviant behaviour; this track is, as few others, ‘Additionally produced’ by Eminem.
‘Beg For Mercy’ is an okay rap album but it’s going anywhere bar where rap’s been comfortable for a bit too long. As Diamanda Galas said in our interview, it is like these ‘gangstas’ are acting the real baddies, all sharply dressed/mean looking/menace emitting/ Mafiosos but… are the wrong colour and their ‘g-units’ tend to misfire, quite often.
7/10
A. N. Omega-man
17-11-2003
G-Unit’s album ‘Beg For Mercy’ is released 17 November 2004 by G-Unit/Interscope
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