Before I Self-Destruct

VINYL FORMAT. 'The pessimism that hangs over Before I Self-Destruct is made a little less noticeable by the newfound enthusiasm with which 50 sometimes rhymes. He still has his moments of squirm-inducing lethargy, but the album features some of the more adept, dynamic flows 50 has waxed in years, particularly on "Crime Wave" and unadorned boom-bap single "Stretch," the latter of which finds him engaging in Jadakiss-esque Pyrex-talk (fitting, since his hoarse vocals on the track bare a strong resemblance to those of Jada). Most impressively, he exudes confidence even in the presence of mainstream rap's most colossal talent. Eminem's recent Alfred Hitchcock phase might be carefully calculated - the masses are enticed by spooky psychodrama, and one of Em's greatest strengths is his mass appeal - but he's an intensely skilled rapper regardless of what he's talking about, something that his verse on "Psycho" beautifully exemplifies. Em weaves around the measured, pulsating bleeps with a flow so devastatingly complex that you hardly notice the hackneyed references to Mike Myers, Christopher Reeves, and NyQuil. And 50 follows suit, emulating Shady's slippery, multi-syllabic cadence. - Mike Burr (Prefixmag)