There's a five-year gap between the unleashing of
G-Unit's debut album -- 2003's
Beg for Mercy -- and the more casual dropping of the follow-up,
T.O.S., as in
Terminate on Sight. Even so,
50 Cent's crew remains the thing that anchors his hip-hop career, connecting him to the streets through mixtapes, guest appearances, and venomous beefs with other rappers, including two of its own. The war with former member
the Game is ongoing, but what's new here is the dismissal of
Young Buck, a complicated matter that had
Buck playing the thoughtful thug in turmoil while
50 acted as the unforgiving hard boss,
G-Unit's supreme capo. As the album dropped,
Buck was out and his five
T.O.S. tracks are relics from the mixtape world, albeit worthy ones that deserve their aboveground status. Throwing its guns in the air and making the club rumble, the addictive "Rider, Pt. 2" is quintessential
G-Unit, and when
Buck declares "Even if
50 drop me/I still wouldn't sign" on the cut, it's a drama-filled bonus for fanboys.
Buck also figures into "I Like the Way She Do It" -- a typical
50 club track in a "Candy Shop" style -- and the thug pledge of allegiance "No Days Off," a track where he feels the odd man out. Without him, the trio of
50,
Lloyd Banks, and
Tony Yayo is a lean and tight attack unit with
Banks as cool and cold as ever, while
50 and
Yayo come off as newly inspired.
50's return to form finds him delivering sly lyrics like "I'm a work of art/A ghetto version of
Mozart/I move the keys/They call me the Piano Man" and making the hood rock like it's 2003 all over again. On the other hand,
Yayo has never sounded so good, stepping his game up with a faster and more urgent style dropping wittier lines like the title track's "I kick
Game like Pele and Beckham." The minimal,
Dre-influenced beats are back in abundance, most supplied by those promising unknowns
50 always seems to discover, save superstar productions from
Don Cannon for "Let It Go," with gun-talking dancehall superstar
Mavado as guest vocalist, plus
Swizz Beatz, who brings the blitzkrieg to "Get Down." If there's a reason to be disappointed it's that the broken promises -- the announced
Eminem,
Dr. Dre, and
Lil' Kim tracks are missing and "Straight Outta Southside" isn't really a commentary on the Sean Bell shooting after all -- could have made this a more well-rounded effort.
T.O.S. isn't an around-the-world affair, and with the
Buck tracks included -- as good as they are -- it isn't thematically sound either, with
50,
Banks, and
Yayo relaunching
G-Unit one minute, then re-creating
Beg for Mercy the next. Even with its wobbly mix of yesterday, today, and a better tomorrow,
T.O.S. is much closer to classic than failure and should reassure fans that this slow-moving tank is pointed in exactly the right direction. ~ David Jeffries