G-UNIT, BEG FOR MERCY (INTERSCOPE)
BRAG ABOUT crime, girls and riches. Drawl or chant the chorus over full-bodied, creative production. Rinse, repeat.
50 Cent perfected the hit formula on his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', and isn't about to let it go as he teams with Young Buck and Lloyd Banks to present Beg for Mercy.
Hip-hop's biggest young star tells listeners on the introduction to expect the "same old (expletive) that I kick" and later notes "50 don't change."
With no skits and only two guest appearances (not even a verse from Eminem or Dr. Dre!), this lean album delivers the same kind of oddly catchy choruses, boastful lyrics and brilliant beats that made Get Rich or Die Tryin' a hit.
It would have been nice to see some Eminem-style lyrical growth between albums, but 50 and his somewhat-above-average rhyme partners are content rehashing familiar themes. Unapologetically shallow and arrogant, they celebrate cars and diamonds on Stunt 101 and give the thumbs-up to Groupie Love, one of two songs featuring jailed fourth group member Tony Yayo.
Such braggadocio is authentic and often fun, but the group sounds downright dishonest on radio-targeted mid-tempo tracks Smile is a lukewarm appeal to 21 Questions fans, and seems forced.
G-Unit's hard-driving voices match the music, though at times it feels any rappers would sound good over such outstanding production. More than 16 different producers (many unknown) pack the 18 songs with guitars, bells, orchestral swells and computer sounds - and the results are jaw-dropping.
The haunting Footprints incorporates a whispering flute and gospel sample, Dre's music on the booming Poppin' Them Thangs and sinister G'd Up upstages every word spoken, and Hi-Tek's two offerings are equally impressive.
Dominating every song on which he appears and most of the choruses, 50 Cent ensures that G-Unit's debut album is more like his second outing than the introduction of a new supergroup. 50 is no astounding MC, but Beg for Mercyshows that matching his cocky star quality with top-notch production has become mainstream hip-hop's most successful new formula.
AL GREEN, I CAN'T STOP
(BLUE NOTE)
Al Green's familiar voice and songwriting style comes through in a collection of love songs in I Can't Stop, his first secular album since 1977. Green sounds like he never left the studio. He co-wrote and co-produced most of the songs, along with his old partner Willie Mitchell. The band, with its gurgling organ and vibrant horn section, has a bluesy feel and includes some of its original members.
Rainin' in My Heart sounds like many of Green's signature ballads complete with shoo-bop background vocalists, also including some original members. Green's soulful voice over a steady beat swells to a rousing ending when he wails and belts out pleas for someone to 'stop the rain'.
Not Tonight, another ballad, is a simple expression of love that Green masterfully turns into a gem. With lines such as "I'm in love with you and I swear my love is true," you know the magic is in Green's captivating delivery more than in the lyrics.
