The new 50 Cent CD hit stores last Thursday and has generated so much hype and controversy that rap fans are salivating in anticipation of the coming destruction.
Originally slated for a Valentine's Day release, 50 pushed "The Massacre" back to March, coinciding with the excommunication of rapper The Game from G-Unit. During an interview at New York's Hot 97 radio station, 50 publicly cut ties with The Game, citing the rookie's unwillingness to join in the new lyrical beefs that 50 stirs up on his second solo album. 50 also said he deserves more writing and production credits on The Game's recent debut album, "The Documentary."
It is reported that The Game tried to enter the station during the interview, and a member of his entourage was shot in the leg during a skirmish. 50 has not officially been linked to the shooting, but the carnage has begun.
"Piggy Bank" is the highly anticipated attack on rappers Fat Joe, JadaKiss, Nas (including his wife Kelis) and Shyne. While this track lacks the creativity and smooth flow of 50's infamous dis-track "How to Rob," it makes up for it in malice. The track ends with maniacal laughter and the verbal challenge, "You gotta do something now / Everybody's listening!"
Eminem produces the next track, "Gatman and Robbin," and also supplies a featured verse. The beat comes from the Batman TV show theme. Eminem speeds up the original music and adds a choppy rhythm to create a semi-likable beat, but it's the hook that saves the track from becoming a cartoonish parody. 50 has an uncanny ability to write and deliver killer hooks. His voice is smooth on "Gatman," and you'll find yourself liking this one.
Eminem handles production on two more tracks and is finally showing some promise as a producer. "I'm Supposed to Die Tonight" features 50 singing the hook in the higher ranges of his voice. The contrast of his voice with the ominously drawn out bass is very catchy. Em's production on "My Toy Soldier," however, is nothing short of ugly.
"The Massacre" successfully taps many different producers for 22 solid tracks. So solid, in fact, it's not an overstatement to say that just about every beat works. Some of the outstanding work is done by Scott Storch for Tuff Jew Productions, who worked on three different tracks. His sound is soulful but, unlike Kanye West and other producers, Storch creates the atmosphere by using instruments like altered pianos and flutes instead of Motown samples.
One big surprise is that newcomers have more production credits on "The Massacre" than does Dr. Dre. Even more surprisingly, Dre's work on this album, while very skillful, is not hit material. There might be some tension between Dre and 50 with Dre redirecting hit beats to the Game's recent album and his own upcoming release.
The album's standout track is "Baltimore Love Thing." For this one, 50 takes on the persona of heroin seducing a female user. 50 uses insights from destructive relationships to invent a very compelling point of view for his lyrics.
The storytelling quality of "Baltimore Love Thing" is a component that this album lacks in general. "The Massacre" combines high quality beat-making with 50's loveable voice, charisma and catchy hooks. But the album is missing substance, which only comes in small spurts.
50 knows that his tough guy image sells, so he wasn't shooting for lyrical depth and meaning on "The Massacre." Flip through the liner notes and you'll see pictures of the drug dealer-turned-rapper surrounded by guns, cocaine, G-Unit Soldiers and more guns.
Both outside and inside of his label and crew, 50 Cent is making a lot of enemies. On this album, 50 makes even more references to his use of bullet-proof vests. He survived a ruthless shooting in the past, but after this album there might be more bullets in 50's future.
