Ah, the curse of 50 Cent. Still capable of booting a track mercilessly into life, but too lazy to be bothered most of the time. He signed hardcore rap veterans Mobb Deep to his G-Unit record label last year, and contributes to six songs here, with his cronies Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo popping up on others.
But there are only a few occasions when the album rises above the predictably insistent beats we’ve come to expect from G-Unit. ‘It’s Alright’, which features Mary J Blige, has the potential to be a mainstream hit, something Mobb Deep aren’t used to. The outstanding ‘Pearly Gates’ mixes Fiddy’s cocksure delivery with Prodigy’s more typically ominous lyrics, which include threats to beat up Jesus. Seriously.
‘Speaking So Freely’ contrasts the downbeat and sinister flow of Prodigy with beats lifted straight from early 90s West Coast rap. It shouldn’t really work, but it does, and the contrast is thrilling. The Knight Rider theme is sampled on ‘Click Click’, with the New York duo managing to twist their rhymes around that clip with electrifying results, helped by a decent turn from Tony Yayo.
Sadly too much of the album lacks the energy of these tracks. Songs like ‘Backstage Pass’, ‘Stole Something’ and ‘Give It To Me’ make no lasting impact, with beats and lyrics that are just too familiar. If Mobb Deep are making any effort to innovate or even stretch themselves here, it doesn’t show. ‘Have A Party’ is a puzzling attempt to meld the rap duo’s gritty street rhymes to a G-Unit club beat. It half succeeds, but only if you pretend that it’s not the pioneers of hardcore rap that you’re listening to.
Blood Money is a patchy album, and it suggests that 50 Cent’s inconsistency might be catching. Let’s just hope he doesn’t start hanging around with Kanye.