Blood Money provides
G-Unit with the opportunity to attach themselves to the legacy of
Mobb Deep, and it gives
Mobb Deep the chance to connect with a younger set of rap fans. Both groups take full advantage. The
G-Unit stamp is all over the album, from the packaging to the mostly self-contained content --
50 Cent drops in on five tracks, while
Young Buck,
Tony Yayo, and
Lloyd Banks also guest. The album alternately sounds like a proper
Mobb Deep album and a
Mobb Deep album hosted (and occasionally overrun) by
G-Unit, and neither camp is close to operating at full strength. The best example of the alliance's negative effect on the headliners is "Give It to Me," a rote "Candy Shop" knockoff in which
Prodigy only fuels the argument that he has slipped as a lyricist: "I'm tired of finger-f*cking this phone/Phone calls bore me, you got me horny."
Havoc (six tracks),
Alchemist ("The Infamous"), and
Sha Money XL and
Ky Miller ("Put Em in Their Place") do come up with some productions worthy of
Mobb Deep's old standard. ~ Andy Kellman