Today's review is on 50 Cent's new album, Animal Ambition. I have been pumped for this album all year, and for good reason. 50 Cent is one of my favorite rappers of all time. A few of his albums are classics to me, and some of his older songs have such fantastic replay value that they still sound great today. 50 has not released a studio album since 2009, so I was very excited to hear this. I wasn't excited because I thought it would be amazing, but more so because i just want some new music from 50 Cent. How will this new project sound?
After several listens to this new album, I can say I am pretty happy with it. As a comeback album, a lot of things about Animal Ambition just work. Some of the elements that made 50 so great years ago return on this project, including catchy hooks and tough lyricism. While 50 Cent is obviously not the musical genius he was a decade ago, he crafts some seriously good tracks on this album. As a technical rapper, 50 has great flow and his best attribute is delivery. This guy commands attention right when his verse starts. Lyrically, his punchlines are as strong as ever, and the toughness is there. While all that is nice, it is the hooks that 50 is amazing at. This album has a whole lot of infectious hooks. The best hooks on this album, to me, are Pilot, Every Time I Come Around, Irregular Heartbeat, and Hustler. These tracks have hard hitting, catchy hooks that I love. This album does have two songs that really do sound like old 50. Irregular Heartbeat was the first one, and this was easily the darkest song on the album. It has a quiet, sinister tone to it that I really like. Hustler is a much more upbeat song, with its fantastic hook and hard verses. These were definitely my two favorites on this project, and they were pretty nostalgic. This album was not without some bad moments, though. There are some moments where 50 just sounds a little old and uncomfortable. There were also two songs that were unbearable. Don't Worry Bout It was a cringe worthy track with 50 really not in his element at all. Winners Circle was a horrible track that was too corny for words. As for features, Animal Ambition has a lot, but they don't ruin the album in any way. Trey Songz brought a lot to the song Smoke, adding a nice hook. He was what made me end up liking that song. Kidd Kidd appears on three songs here, and I was pleasantly surprised by him. He was solid on all his verses, especially on Irregular Heartbeat. The album closer, Chase the Paper, was an awesome posse cut with Prodigy, Styles P, and Kidd Kidd. Everyone killed it, and it was good to hear some of these guys spitting with 50. Overall, 50 has some great nostalgic moments on this album, as well as some fantastic hooks. Even with some bad moments, 50 did an admirable job with Animal Ambition.
The production on Animal Ambition was by no means stellar or great, but much like 50 Cent himself, it just works. There weren't any beats on this album that blew me away, but almost all of them were just good. I wouldn't have asked for anything else. For example, the first track, Hold On. This beat didn't have much going on, with only some little guitar plinks and soft drums. It really works, though. I loved the way 50 rapped over it, and it gave the track a cool, relaxed vibe. Irregular Heartbeat had a totally different vibe, but the beat works in the same way. Very minimalistic, with not many sounds going on in the song. It was really just some eerie synths and percussion. It enhances the vibe of the song so much, though. I loved this beat, and it worked perfectly on the song. Some beats on Animal Ambition have a bit more going on in them, like Hustler. This Jake One beat sounded great, and it didn't even feature anything new or different in it. The drums sounded good, and the synths flowing all over the track gave it a cool vibe. I absolutely loved the instrumental for the song Pilot, too. This beat was very moody, and gave off an awesome vibe. It was a pure head-bopper. There are very few beats on this album that I feel don't work, and 50 Cent sounds totally comfortable over a lot of them. While some beats really pale in comparison to others, I didn't have much of a problem with the production on Animal Ambition. It was tailored well for 50 Cent.
ANIMAL AMBITION WRAP UP
+50 still sounds great, especially on hooks
+Some nostalgic moments
+Production works perfectly for 50 Cent's rapping
+Great features
-Two terrible songs
-Some of the beats are a bit boring and average
Best: Pilot, Irregular Heartbeat, Hustler
Worst: Winners Circle
50 Cent- Animal Ambition
7.4/10
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