50 Cent -- Before I Self-Destruct

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pro: 50 eschews recent pop-music flirtations and returns to roots as a gangster rapper.

Con: Minimalist album (no big guests outside of Shady/Aftermath and first single "Baby By Me") highlights 50's flaws as a rapper.

Bottom Line: 50 hasn't been relevant since "I Get Money"; B4ISD won't change that.

Recommended Tracks:

Psycho

OK, You're Right

50 Cent tries to reconnect with his gangster rap roots on his new album Before I Self Destruct. Besides a few Dre tracks and the lead single "Baby By Me", the album has a consistent and monotonous sound -- harshly melodic beats with hard pianos and drums behind them. With no other guest rappers besides Eminem, the album rests entirely on 50's shoulders.

Such a bright spotlight does him no favors. He rarely switches up his flow, mostly sticking with the same gravelly sing-song rhyme scheme that sounds like he's talking out of one side of his mouth. And he's certainly not the cleverest lyricist, using lazy metaphors like "I've got more guns than a gun store" and "I'm like Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness; in my hood we hustle in pursuit of the same shit." Eminem out-raps him so badly on "Psycho" it's embarrassing.

B4ISD is a full-throated return to the hardcore lyrics of his underground years: "You want some, come get some / It's murder one when you see my gun / I just squeeze and squeeze till the whole clip done / You just bleed and bleed until the police come." That's the most surprising part of the album -- 50 has made hundreds of millions of dollars over the past seven years, yet he doesn't sound very happy.

The only reason girls sleep with him is to "have a baby by me and be a millionaire." Even his usually witty one-liners are tinged with bitterness -- banished G-Unit members Young Buck and Game are a "junkie" and a "queer" respectively. The scars from a messy custody battle with the mother of his son are still fresh: "She don't care about me, she just wants some cash / I'm thinking damn girl we used to be friends."

Anytime he shows any vulnerability, he quickly scrambles back to the psychological safety of the gangster pose. He mentions the pain he felt when his mother blamed him for the missing furniture of his crack-head uncle stole, then immediately boasts "he pistol-whipped that (expletive) till his face was purple" to retaliate.

As "Psycho" shows, a rapper as talented as Eminem and a producer as talented as Dre can make great music about nothing, but 50 doesn't have nearly the skill of his mentors. He spends most of B4ISD trying to scare us, when it really sounds like he just needs a hug.

Jadakiss -- The Last Kiss

Rating: 2/5 stars.

Pros: Jadakiss sticks with the same formula that made him a mixtape legend.

Cons: He hasn't grown as a rapper in almost a decade, making him sound anachronistic.

Bottom Line: If you liked his last two albums (which you probably didn't), this won't be too disappointing.

Recommended Tracks:

What If

Grind Hard

Jadakiss first made a name for himself when his rap group LOX released a moving tribute to their label mate Biggie Smalls. But in the decade since, rap has increasingly shifted away from the New York mix-tape scene and its emphasis on hardcore street rhymes. Or as Jadakiss tells it "rappers is more commercially successful now but the heart's a lot weaker."

So how can one of Biggie's contemporaries remain relevant in 2009? The first single "By My Side" features a hook from Ne-Yo and an appearance from Lil' Wayne. But their fans aren't going to remember a rapper who hasn't had an album out in five years.

Jada's last album (2004's Kiss of Death) was carried by the unexpected success of "Why", an eclectic collection of rhetorical questions. So he tries to catch lightning in a bottle twice with "What If", a duet with Nas where they ponder Mayan prophecies, Michael Vick and Hurricane Katrina.

Rather than actual songs, both singles are more like freestyles, stream-of-consciousness raps where an artist is given license to ramble as long as they produce the occasional witty line. There's a similarity to his years of work on the mix-tape scene, where his raspy baritone made him a legend. But ask him to carry an idea for four minutes and you're in trouble.

Most of The Last Kiss revolves around aimless tough talk and idle boasting without any coherent song structure. So when Jada does attempt something different ("every good woman needs a thug"), it's so out of place that it seems contrived. It's the same fundamental problem that ruined his previous two solo albums, which even he admitted were uninspired. And in this climate, The Last Kiss is probably his last chance.

Common -- Universal Mind Control

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pro: Some of the liveliest music of his career.

Con: Very little musical chemistry between Common and the Neptunes.

Bottom Line: Common finds out making club music is harder than he thought.

Recommended Tracks:

Make My Day

What A World


The pairing of Common and the Neptunes, two hip-hop legends in need of a creative spark, was an intriguing idea. Common's collaborations with label-boss Kanye West reached a dead-end with 2007's lackluster Finding Forever; the Neptunes, once the genre's premier hit-makers, haven't had commercial success in over two years.

There are only two problems with Universal Mind Control, Common's new Neptunes-produced album: their club-centric production style doesn't mesh with his lyric-heavy rapping while his style of rapping isn't suited for their futuristic-sounding party records.

Since club music revolves around beats and not lyrics, one of rap's premier lyricists is essentially wasted. There's no way to pay attention to what Common is saying with the cacophony of a Neptunes beat -- exotic drums and spacey sound effects -- overwhelming him.

On the other hand, those loud cranked-up beats need charismatic rappers with commanding vocal presences to harness them: see the Neptunes' success with Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes. Just because a song has simple subject matter doesn't mean it's easy to rap over; witty and clever lines can be as hard to write as deep and contemplative ones. Universal Mind Control is full of clunkers like "broads say you are a philosopher / Yea, yea, I'll philosophy on top of ya."

The only song Common makes his own is "What A World" where he adopts a Sugarhill Gang flow ("A little boy from Chicago had dreams to be a star / And make a way, and get some pay, and drive a fancy car") to tell a 3rd person account of his career.

The album's ultimate success will depend on the reaction to the Neptunes mix of electronic and European club music. For a rapper as accomplished as Common, it's the rarest of failures: he'll be taking the blame for something not really his.

David Banner -- Greatest Story Ever Told

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pros: Banner establishes himself as a more militant Kanye West.

Cons: Attempts to recreate previous hits ruin album's flow.

Bottom Line: Album won't give Banner the commercial success he so craves.

Recommended Tracks:

Faith

B.A.N.


Since releasing “Like A Pimp” in 2003, David Banner has been on the cusp of stardom. He became a big-time producer, with hits for T.I., Lil Wayne and Nelly under his belt. As a rapper, he’s a militant Kanye West - balancing crass pop songs like “Play” with pointed social commentary.

He raps with a country snarl, pouring so much emotion into each word that he’s almost yelling. His new album Greatest Story Ever Told matches this Hulk-like persona - it’s loud and visceral music, complete with booming, bass-heavy beats.

And where Kanye uses light-hearted humor to explain his contradictory music, Banner uses anger to tie together wildly different subject matter. He directs it at an indifferent government and the self-loathing ghettos: “We so quick to kill each other in the hood where we from / But we hide the AK’s when the Fed’s come.” Eventually it spirals into anger at nothing in particular: "I'm filthy rich and going to continue to ball / I'm going to punch you in your throat, and make you piss all in your drawers."

But in today’s climate, record labels won’t release an album without a song for the radio. Greatest Story Ever Told was slated for release last year, but without a big-lead single, the label kept pushing it back. And the harder Banner tried to re-capture his previous magic, the more he lost his way.

He shamelessly jumped on the hottest trends. The first single “9MM” features Lil’ Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Akon. The second single, “Get Like Me” has a chorus from Yung Joc’s “It’s Goin Down” and a rap verse from Chris Brown.

Then there are the blatant rip-offs of original songs - “Shawty Say” (“Lollipop” Part II) and “A Girl” (“Play” Part II). Eventually, he quits the pretense and just names a song “Cadillac on 22’s Part II”.

Greatest Story Ever Told proves that even someone as talented as Banner can’t take short-cuts to success.

Gnarls Barkley -- The Odd Couple

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pros: Cee-lo's emotion-rich and genre-bending voice.

Cons: Sounds like the b-side of their great debut St. Elsewhere.

Bottom Line: Might be time for two music industry vagabonds to disband this odd couple.

Recommended Tracks:

Who's Gonna Save My Soul

Blind Mary


The odd couple, from "Grumpy Old Men" to "Lethal Weapon," is as old as show business. Two mismatched characters are forced together, personalities clash and wackiness ensues. Before "Rush Hour," Jackie Chan had been a Hong Kong martial-arts legend for 20 years without crossing over, while Chris Tucker was known more as a comedian than an actor. But together, the wise-cracking, fast-talking black guy and no-nonsense Asian martial arts expert grossed more than $100 million.

Gnarls Barkley had similarly humble beginnings. The core of their debut album St. Elsewhere was recorded when Southern rap veteran Cee-Lo met underground Gorillaz producer Danger Mouse on tour. Both men had long existed on the mainstream fringe, and they poured their frustrations into their new side project.

From the odd name to the wacky costumes, the group was supposed to be a lark. That was, until "Crazy" happened. Cee-Lo's plaintive wailing blended perfectly with the darkly hypnotic neo-soul/R&B beat, and "Crazy" became one 2006's biggest songs.

St. Elsewhere sounded like nothing else on the charts, and both artists earned some long-deserved commercial success. Of course, a sequel was inevitable. But The Odd Couple is more "Rush Hour II" than "Empire Strikes Back."

Everything about the original is back, from Cee-Lo's dark lyrics ("I know I'm out of control now / Tired enough to lay my own soul down") to the fast-paced "Crazy" remake ("Run"). While his soulful anguish felt genuine the first time around, it just seems forced now. The Odd Couple plays like a b-side of St. Elsewhere — a collection of tracks that couldn't make the cut the first time. Creatively, it's an album that didn't need to be made.

Both men are immensely talented solo artists, but if they're not careful, they're going to be marginalized as parts of a one-trick pony. Chris Tucker made $20 million for each "Rush Hour" movie, but they're all he's done in the last decade.

Cassidy -- BARS: The Barry Adrien Reese Story

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pros: Swizz Beatz and Cassidy remain a great musical tandem.

Cons: Newfound maturity is undercut by gangster posturing on lyrically inconsistent album.

Bottom Line: To live up to his potential, Cassidy needs to finally decide on what type of music he wants to put out.

Recommended Tracks:

My Drink & My Two-Step

Innocent

It’s been two long years since “I’m a Hustler” for Cassidy. Shortly before his 2005 album was released there was a shootout behind his house that left an associate dead. Initially charged with first-degree murder, he served 8 months for involuntary manslaughter. Soon after coming out of jail, a car crash left him in a coma with a fractured skull and a coma.

Rappers have long made artistic hay out of personal tragedy, so it’s no surprise that “B.A.R.S.: The Barry Adrian Reese Story” focuses so heavily on his troubled personal life. “Innocent”, the album’s standout track, gives his side of his legal troubles over a smooth R&B chorus and soulful piano chords. Calling himself a changed man, he credits his faith for his survival on “Leaning on the Lord” and “All by Myself.”

But while leaving the streets behind makes sense for Barry Reese, Cassidy the rapper hasn’t been able to make the same commitment. After all, his biggest hit (“I’m a Hustler”) revolved around drug dealing and bravado. The end result is a silly dichotomy – apologizing for the death of a friend after he cackles that he “beat a murder.”

On “I Miss the Game” he notes that too many rappers follow the same blueprint: “Now every rapper on some ‘bust that gat’ (expletive) / Cut that crack (expletive) / Forget that whack (expletive)”. Yet earlier on the album, he boasts that he “really sold pies” and “can talk that gun stuff / cuz I’ve done that gun stuff.”

Producer Swizz Beatz, the Dr. Dre to his Eminem, has been both good and bad for Cassidy. Club smashes like “My Drink & My 2 Step”, which almost any rapper could have made a hit, come with a burden of commercial expectations. So the punch-line rapper who earned his fame on the brutal Northeast mix tape circuit launched his career with the cheesy R. Kelly ballad “Hotel.”

Three albums into his career, Cassidy probably won’t become the star Swizz wants him to be, but there may be a place in rap for Barry Reese.

Yung Joc -- Hustlenomics

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pros: Several catchy songs that would get any party jumping.

Cons: Rushed album gave Joc no chance to match debut.

Bottom Line: Sophomore slump could derail Joc's career.

Recommended Tracks:

Play Your Cards

Bottle Poppin

In a strange bit of irony, Yung Joc's new album Hustlenomics is an almost textbook example of a hustle:

1. Capitalize on a brand name while consumers still have a positive association with it. Hustlenomics was rushed to the market a little more than a year after Joc's breakthrough New Joc City. The lead-off single Coffee Shop was released two months after the last single from New Joc City peaked on the charts.

2. Associate the product with as many big names as possible. Though New Joc City became a surprise hit thanks to the synthesizer-heavy chemistry between Joc and producer-mentor Nitti, Hustlenomics has a long list of A-listers thrown haphazardly together: Diddy, Game, the Neptunes, Snoop Dogg and Jazze Pha.

3. Make an appeal to every demographic, regardless of the product's strengths. Joc's fan base is primarily teenagers and party-goers (he has toured with Omarion, Ne-Yo, Ciara and T-Pain). And after an album of clubbing and bottle-popping, his gangsta raps ("You don't want no static / holes through your chest hard to breathe like asthmatics”) feel forced.

Joc’s laid-back drawl and raspy voice work well with up-tempo synthesizer songs like his breakthrough hit It’s Goin Down or the Cool & Dre produced Play Your Cards. He’s likeable enough to deliver drug-dealing rhymes ("First I take they order like a coffee shop / Then I steam it up and cook it like the coffee shop") alongside a children's chorus without seeming out of place.

But instead of letting Joc build on his promising debut, Bad Boy decided to make a quick buck. For all his talk of "teaching you how to hustle," he hasn't figured out who the real hustlers in the rap game are.

T.I. -- T.I. vs. T.I.P.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pro: T.I.'s technical skills as a rapper continue to improve.

Con: After four albums in five years, he's running out of
things to say.

Bottom Line: A rare miss for a normally consistent rapper.

Recommended Tracks:

Big Shit Poppin

Respect This Hustle

T.I. declared himself “King of the South” when he was a little-known local act out of Atlanta. He earned the title in 2006 with a Hollywood movie and the year’s best-selling rap album. The aptly named KING served as the culmination of a career of striving, spawning two Billboard hits and a Grammy nomination.

But the shadow of his previous success looms over his follow-up T.I. vs. T.I.P. After dedicating his career to reaching the throne, he seems unsure what to do now that he has it. The album’s narrative concept, the struggle between two sides of his personality — T.I. the mature businessman and T.I.P. the hotheaded gangster — is recycled verbatim from a 2003 song.

So he falls back on the subject he is most comfortable with — himself. While he previously balanced his arrogance with introspection, T.I. vs. T.I.P. has songs chronicling his style (My Swag; We Do This) and his toughness (Hurt). Even he seems bored on his lackluster second single You Know What It Is: "Chart topping ain't a car I ain't got / Number one customer at my own car lot."

Without longtime producer DJ Toomp, the album lacks an anthemic single like What You Know or Rubberband Man. Instead there is a string of synthesizer-heavy beats jam-packed with some of the biggest names in rap (Jay-Z, Eminem, Nelly). The rapid-fire flow he has gradually adopted over the years is near flawless. The shame is, as his skills on the mike continue to improve, he has increasingly less to actually say.