By Adam Thomas
It must have been a New Year’s resolution for G-Unit to shake things up.
Think about it, they start the year with a brand new mixtape series, and
conspicuously Young Buck is left out. It sounded like Buck was given his
discharge, and lo and behold, by June, there are multiple diss tracks and taped
conversations all over; from print to pixel.
Like battle hardened soldiers, G-Unit seems the best when they are in battle.
General 50 Cent is a mastermind of controlling the heat and keeping the beef
fresh in people’s minds. Hate it or love it, it has kept us talking about them
even after a relatively quiet 2007, whose high point was CURTIS.
As such, their latest offering, T.O.S. (G-Unit), probably has more press based on the conflicts and
beef than the actual music. Fans expecting the same as their first commercial
outing, Beg For Mercy, may find themselves a bit out of sorts. However,
those who’ve enjoyed the recent tactical barrages of Whoo Kid tapes will find
themselves at home within T.O.S.’s
musical trenches.
The opener, “Straight Out of Southside” pays homage to N.W.A’s original
gangster posse cut “Straight out of Compton” with each member giving their
toughest introductions to their personas. Banks takes the cake with harsh lines
like “F*** the police with an HIV carrier / No Vaseline and an M-16”. If you
need another reason to realize that Banks is the lyrical sharpshooter within
the clique, look no further than “T.O.S.”, where Banks delivers potent bar
after bar with deadly accuracy.
“No Days Off” features elements that made G-Unit famous in the first place. The
gloomy harp and tapping bass resembling rain creates a terrific drop for a
sinister track. Also the smoothly produced “Piano Man” catches the entire Unit
dropping potent verses. Fan Favorite “Rider Pt. 2” made the album,
featuring 50 on a synthesizer and some now ironic
lyrics from Buck like “ If 50 ever dropped me, I still wouldn’t sign:”
This isn’t to say this disc is all grit grime and good times. There are two
songs (“The Way She Do It,” “Kitty
Kat”) are just down right awful. You can tell that 50 and company are trying to recreate a "Wanna Get to Know You,"
but the magic just seems to be missing in action.
By the time “ Money Make The World Go Round” delivered by sergeant at arms
Tony Yayo finishes the disc, you have an idea of what they have been building
towards with the mixtape push and makeover they experienced this year, shedding
some of their commercial feel and replacing it with more hardcore sound.
Is the mission accomplished? Not by any means, as some of the forgetful tracks
(“Close To Me”) on this album makes their flaws that much more visible.
However, Terminate On Sight at its
best, creates the sound their hardcore fans felt their individual albums were
missing. While it does not win the war, it’s at least a tactical victory.