50 Cent Speaks On “Before I Self Destruct”, Eminem featured on the Album

50 Cent (Photo: MTV News)

“It’s a catch-22,” the rapper said over the weekend in Las Vegas, referring to the criticism he received for Curtis, an album that he calls “softer” than Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s too aggressive.’ … Soon as you do something that’s a little more lighthearted, and you can play the whole record and feel like you don’t have to cover your kid’s ears, I get penalized for it. So get ready to cover your kid’s ears. Now I’m really interested in seeing how the public responds.” ‘Get Up,’ is just the appetizer,” he said on Saturday, in a separate interview at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. “I got so much more, so many different records to feel out and see what direction I wanna go in next. I’ve been writing this record for a year. I started Before I Self Destruct before I started Curtis. Conceptually, this one has been very well-groomed.”

Unlike Curtis, which had cameos from Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige and Robin Thicke, it doesn’t seem like 50 is too interested in having collaborators stop by the studio this time around. Eminem is the only name he shared. (50 described the record “Norman Bates Motel” as “the return of Slim Shady.”)

“So far, I’ve kinda kept to myself and wrote what I felt was exciting from my perspective, It’s always fun working with Em for me. He’s in a space where he has the luxury of just being able to sit down. The rest of us … me, I do the actual footwork. Dre hasn’t had an album out in seven years. Em — two years. Me — seven, eight months. They send me out to test the waters, and everyone else will jump in the tub. I stay a little more active. Em is by far the biggest rap artist, period. I’m the largest hip-hop touring artist. I travel more places than he travels to be in front of a live audience.”

50 traveled to Detroit to stay with Em twice while recording. One time was over the span of a weekend, and Em encouraged his signee to carry out his idea of shooting a movie to accompany the album.

“He’s like, ‘Go, just do it. If you wanna go, just do it, and we’ll figure everything out after the fact,’ ” 50 recalled. “There were a few technical questions, considering this is my fourth and final actual studio album. My fifth album requirement [to Shady/Aftermath] is a greatest-hits requirement.”

The film “Before I Self Destruct” will be packaged with the album on December 9

(Source: Shaheem Reid, MTV)

50 Cent’s ‘Before I Self Destruct’ Details

From Aftermath Music:

50 Cent exploded onto the music scene with his blockbuster debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. Now he’s set to deliver his fourth major label album, Before I Self Destruct (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), on December 9, 2008.

For the explosive Before I Self Destruct, 50 Cent returned to working closely with Dr. Dre and Eminem as he did on his first album. But Before I Self Destruct is more than an album. The package also includes a DVD with an original, gritty, feature-length movie he wrote, directed and starred in. 50 Cent proves with Before I Self Destruct that no one on the hip-hop scene is more aggressive about putting the street on stage.

With Dr. Dre and Eminem each producing and guesting on tracks, and led by the club-friendly first single, “Get Up,” produced by Scott Storch, Before I Self Destruct is darker and harder than last year’s Curtis. 50 Cent wrote much of the album while he, as Curtis Jackson, was also penning the 90-minute film of the same name that would be his directorial debut.

The film Before I Self Destruct is a coming of age story about an inner city youth raised by a hardworking single mother. When his dream of becoming a basketball player fails to materialize, he finds himself employed in a supermarket. After his mother is tragically gunned down, Clarence (played by Jackson) is consumed by revenge and takes up a life of crime in order to support his younger brother.

“My film captures the harsh realities that reflect so many communities today. There will be some who will greatly identify with the characters and the situations presented and then there will be others who may be shocked at the struggles that go on in the inner city,” states 50 Cent. “I made the film for both groups.”

For more info, and updates on Before I Self Destruct, go to WestCoastFlow.com

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New 50 Cent Single: ‘Get Up’ From ‘Before I Self Destruct’

West Coast Flow Exclusive

Get Up is 50 Cent’s first single off Before I Self Destruct! The production for the song is handled by Scott Storch, who provided other tracks for 50 such as Just a Lil’ Bit and Candy Shop. A solid first single which leaves me excited to see what else the album has in store for us.

Listen to Get Up here

Often times an artist promises a release date for an album, and the promise is broken, but the one true event that can confirm to fans that an album is within sight is a new single being released. This leaves me with confidence that Before I Self Destruct will be released in December as promised.

A statement by 50 Cent confirms that multiple tracks off the album will be produced by Dr. Dre.

“Dre sent over a bunch of beats, and we’re just going through them all, picking out who wants what. We already finished one joint and just started vocals on another. It’s gonna blow you away, I guarantee.”

-50 Cent

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