We had to do it eventually…
[Video][Website]
[4.00]
Jonathan Bradley: Sculpted abs and bleak thuggery formed the basis of 50’s reputation, but his raffish humour was what made him appealing. Any two-bit hustler can claim a superior weapons cache; it took 50 to boast that his hat is bulletproof. Bank balance brags are dime-a-dozen; 50 would chide himself for forgetting most people can’t drop a stack on a new Jag every other week. “Animal Ambition” isn’t bad because it’s musically conservative and thematically unadventurous — 50’s approach has always had a hint of the pro forma. It’s because there is so little to smile at. “I say ‘say no to drugs,’ then I do that shit” is a flash of Curtis villainy, but there’s too little of the man we once loved to hate.
[3]
Crystal Leww: “Animal Ambition” highlights 50 Cent’s major problems: old-fashioned beat with a dated style, lazy raps, and no hooks. His latest slew of singles had such little impact on rap radio, but there’s no setting where “Animal Ambition” might bang. Maybe a studying playlist.
[4]
Patrick St. Michel: Even 50’s growls sound unconvinced of his schtick in 2014.
[2]
Brad Shoup: Is this really his eleventh single off this record? Look, he never had to be specific, he had the blitzkrieg rollout and a palpable cockiness. He’s still got that sidemouth mumble and his pop genius: that hook, contorted into ESL; Swiff D’s churning, club-ready bop; 50’s singsong, give-a-fuck delivery. Again, there’s nothing here that’s about anything: no retro territory defense, no lion-in-winter realness, no X-capades (his secret strength). This is a hit for folks like me, and that’s a major problem.
[7]
Thomas Inskeep: Swiff D’s production on this is weird, in a good way: pleasantly cluttered. 50’s still got some flow. But the combination doesn’t amount to much, and the “animal” theme is a bit offputting, what with the sound effects seemingly glued onto the end of the track.
[5]
Alfred Soto: To learn in a few weeks that he intended this effort as the GOP’s 2014 midterm election theme — it’s got elephant calls! — wouldn’t surprise me a jot.
[3]
Anthony Easton: From his producing, acting, and Vitamin Water businesses, plus some minor dipping into real estate, I figure that Fiddy does not need to make music anymore. He keeps trying to race to keep up, and people are not buying, so the world does not think that Fiddy needs to make music anymore. I wonder why he keeps bothering, why so much of his ego is tied up into a successful rapper, when he makes no effort to internalize what a successful rapper is. The producers, writers, or guest artists that he works with — well, he doesn’t work with them, he pushes them towards his aesthetic. But his aesthetic seems both underformed and heavily dependent on a construction of self that seems deeply dated. Even the violent gangster rhetoric has moved aesthetically to Chicago. Serrano makes this point in Grantland and I would make an argument even about the album versus the single, but Beyonce, so I might be wrong there. I still don’t know why this exists.
[4]