50 Cent's War Angel LP Mixtape: A Review

After 2007's somewhat disappointing solo album Curtis, 50 Cent released two excellent mixtapes: Return of the Body Snatchers and Elephant in the Sand to promote 2008's rather disappointing T.O.S: Terminate on Sight, G-Unit's second album. Since then, musically at least, he has been largely quiet, save for a few scattered singles and diss records. But on June 16, 2009, he released the War Angel LP mixtape (the first of several planned mixtapes), pronouncing it a return to form, and the impetus for a shift in hip-hop away from pop sensibilities and back to more hardcore fare. A characteristically bold pronouncement, this claim is only partially true.

Since 2005's The Massacre, 50 has been marked by his inability to create a cohesive body of work that marries his uber-hardcore records with his more pop-friendly tunes. This is less of a concern on his mixtapes than his albums as his mixtapes generally include far raunchier and more aggressive club songs than those he has released for radio; thus they blend in well with his hardcore street records. But here there are a number of pop-sounding tunes that could crossover, given a few minor adjustments. The Robin Thicke duet only needs a title change, and both I'll Do Anything and London Girl could be shipped right to radio with a few well-placed bleeps.

That said, the first half of the album is more of the hardcore braggadocio at which 50 excels, many as catchy as records from the aforementioned mixtapes. The first few tracks are excellent, featuring the same kinds of catchy hooks that made him popular, as well as arrange of growling and snarling adlibs that would give a Young Jeezy mixtape a run for its money.

The music in general is good, but it simply is not as exciting as his earlier underground work. The problem here though extends beyond the music itself. G-Unit as a brand has been on a steady decline for years now, and if this mixtape is meant to reignite interest in it, then he may have lost touch with what made it exciting in the first place. Some of it was saturation. Circa 2005, 50 Cent was what Lil Wayne is now: ubiquitous. There was also a certain enthusiasm born of his newly christened superstar status that you could hear in the music. There was the excitement of his colleagues: the energy of Tony Yayo, the punchlines of Lloyd Banks, as well as 50's own infectious enthusiasm. There was the down South drawl of Young Buck and the abrasive West Coast flair of The Game, as well as the boundless potential when M.O.P. and Mobb Deep and others joined the group.

Now, as other the insularity has dissolved as evidenced by Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo working on their own mixtapes with other artists. They realize (even if unconsciously) that the story was what drove the brand: whether 50's near-murder and subsequent success, beef with Murder Inc., the Game's defection, 50's war on East Coast rappers (begun with the infamous Piggy Bank from 2005's The Massacre), etc. 50 likely understands it, which is why War Angel LP features a few shots at various rappers. Now there is no strongly compelling story. And it is not that 50 cannot compel musically: he can. But more compelling than this latest batch of music was that the music was once tied to media momentum. The music was once all hunger and drive. And once captivating, ironically, was his long-gone disdain for the self-satisfaction of rich rappers. And with his artists diverging, and he himself being outpaced in mixtape quantity by practically every new artist, 50 Cent is clearly in a holding pattern, as War Angel LP demonstrates.

View my other Associated Content music reviews here.Sources

War Angel LP, Wikipedia

Shaheem Reid, Exclusive: 50 Cent Talks War Angel LP, Which Drops Next Week, MTV.com