So why is G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I dig some of 50 Cent’s output a great deal, particularly his occasional collaborations with Dr. Dre and/or Eminem. “In Da Club” is an early 2000s classic, of course, but probably my favorite single track in which 50 Cent appears comes on “Crack A Bottle” (off of Eminem’s Relapse album from 2009) which features the fully functional rap battle station of Dre, 50, and Slim Shady.
That being said, my favorite full-length album in which 50 Cent plays a primary role is G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy. It’s an album that took me some time to “go back” and discover, and I’m really happy that I did.
And I suppose it makes sense that “Poppin’ Them Thangs” is my favorite song on Beg For Mercy, as Dr. Dre pulls producer duty on this one along with Scott Storch. It’s vintage Dr. Dre, too: bombastic and spooky and straight west coast hip hop, which interestingly maps against the Queens, New York-based G-Unit crew – which I should note includes Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and Tony Yayo in addition to 50 Cent.
Speaking of production, I’m really floored by the samples and work all told that Mr. Porter pulls off on “Stunt 101.” And it should be noted that this kind of ornate, almost baroque-sounding production works ideally with 50 Cent’s deep voice and monotone-ish yet charismatic flow.
Dre and Storch also team up on “G’D Up,” which is somehow even spookier-sounding and more forbidding than “Poppin’ Them Thangs.” The effect is fantastic; this sounds like the song that should be playing when the hero heads into the building where the bad people (lots of them) are holed up, where the Final Showdown is about to go down.
Some stats & info about G-Unit – Beg For Mercy
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rap, Hip Hop, East Coast Rap, Hardcore Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Beg For Mercy released? 2003
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #471 out of 1,000
G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from G-Unit’s Beg For Mercy that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Every hood that we go through, all the gangsters around know my whole crew.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.