The Zoo

When we first met 50 Cent in the late ‘90s, he was a cocky battle rapper with a tongue as sharp as the weapons he carried. After living through a shooting that was damn near impossible to survive, 50 emerged as the bionic man that we’ve known for most of his mainstream career. His tough-guy-talk to the tune of floor-shaking beats left 50 at the forefront of a movement that started before him, but he managed to own midway. Enter Corporate 50: the man who’s more Hollywood than Hollis, more Vitamin Water than quarter water. The natural progression for successful rappers these days is to become a brand. The conflict comes when the demand for more music does. That is where Before I Self Destruct arrives at a screeching halt – we’ve witnessed business suit 50 for a while now; we’re expecting a corporate thug, but we’re left with the school bully again.

Self Destruct opens with “The Invitation”, where Curtis juggles threats and bragging with lines like “All I do is stunt now; I’m so Maybach / there I go frontin’ again; I meant to say ‘laid back’.” 50’s sense of humor is prevalent through the entire work, it’s more arrogance than anything else. That’s 50 though, and that’s what we’ve come to expect from him. However, for a multi-millionaire like Curtis Jackson, it wouldn’t have hurt to end his four-album stint on Interscope with some grown man Rap. Instead we’re given a collection of songs that are more b-sides than hits, with the exception of a few like “So Disrespectful”, the hard-hitting “Crime Wave,” the Eminem-owned “Psycho,” and the pop sounding “Baby By Me” featuring Ne-Yo.

The rest of Before I Self Destruct is sadly underwhelming, with songs like the silly “Hold Me Down” where 50 is making kissing noises and using outdated phrases like “twist the indo.” Speaking of outdated phrases – “I Got Swag” is home to lines about diamonds, anal sex, and shopping sprees, while “Get It Hot” rattles off with the neurotic hook “Get it, get it, get it, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.” The upside though, which is pretty much consistent with all of 50’s albums, is that the singles are great enough to carry the low points in the album.

Like most of 50 Cent’s career, we’re not entirely sure if he’s kidding or not. Just two years ago he lost a sales battle with Kanye West and moved his release date way past The Blueprint 3 so he may very well be aware of his own limitations. Regardless of the motive, Before I Self Destruct leaves us wondering what’s next for 50 Cent, and if that was his sole intention, then mission accomplished.

Wale (Wall-Ey) not to be confused with (Wall-Y) is one of the new kids on the block in hip hop. He’s one of the new more swagger filled lyrical wordsmiths in the game. On his new album “Attention Deficit” he uses pop culture references, humor and wordplay to display the thoughts in his mind.
“Triumph” and “Mama Told Me” set the plate for more substantive material like “90210” where he sounds off about bulimia, drug use and other negative aspects of the “Hollywood dream.” Following this, Wale becomes introspective, analyzing color boundaries on “Shades” with lines like “I never fit in with the light skins / I figured that the lighter they was, the better that they life is.” The song proves to be the most personal with more quotable lines. “Man, I hate black / Skin tone, I wish I could take it back / But rearrange my status, maybe if I was khaki / Associating light-skinned with classy / The minstrel show showed a me that was not me.” Later, he uses a haunting instrumental to get into the “diary of a black girl” on “Diary,” offering more depth to the overall quality of the album.
His album is also full of guest appearances; Bun B appears on “Mirrors” and Gucci Mane and Weensey add an unexpected flavor to “Pretty Girls.” He uses the brilliant Melanie Fiona, Chrisette Michele and Marsha Ambrosius on a few hooks. Lady Gaga lends a Pop-friendly hand to the lead single “Chillin’,” K’Naan sings and raps on Dave Sitek’s “TV In the Radio” and newcomer J. Cole goes bar for bar on “Beautiful Bliss.”
Guests are aplenty on the album. Bun B shares the mic over Mark Ronson’s smooth instrumentation on “Mirrors” and Gucci Mane and Weensey add an unexpected flavor to “Pretty Girls.” Nothing short of brilliant is the assistance of Melanie Fiona, Chrisette Michele and Marsha Ambrosius on a few hooks. Lady Gaga lends a Pop-friendly hand to the lead single “Chillin’,” K’Naan sings and raps on Dave Sitek’s “TV In the Radio” and newcomer J. Cole goes bar for bar on “Beautiful Bliss,” a cut co-produced by Mark Ronson and DJ Green Lantern.
Overall, Attention: Deficit shows that Wale isn’t all hype. In fact, it continues to demonstrate the talent that was heard on his various mix tapes. After this official debut album, Wale has the game’s attention, without the deficit. Perhaps people will now get his name right.

Drake is now confirming that Jay-Z , Lil Wayne, Kanye West and The-Dream are going to appear on his new album. He told Billboard that “a couple of guest that may be very much surprises for a Hip Hop album. I just want to give people a musical experience. I like to open up the minds of the fans in my genre.”

A “classic” debut album in Hip Hop has become somewhat of a myth. Instead of treating their albums as masterpieces artist have conformed to the 2 song hits with a lot of fluff to drive their albums.  With that said, “the lonely stoner” that is Kid Cudi has no intentions to follow this same mold. He Divided his album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, into five acts, Cudi looks to create a themed-story of the man behind the shaded glasses.