Ideal ammunition for middle class suburban kids in their dad’s Escalade and perfect cannon fodder for anyone with an active interest in hip hop, G-Unit is back with a pseudo-vengeance on their first album in five years.
T.O.S.: Terminate On Sight is the follow-up to 2003’s Beg for Mercy and it is an antagonistic shred through the current beefs and issues on the crew’s mind. As is usually the case with hip hop millionaires, however, those beefs and issues tend to be less than gripping. 50 Cent may have been shot a number of times, but his lyrical weight fits more within gated communities than it does with the hard streets of Queens.
G-Unit is down a member on T.O.S. Young Buck has apparently committed the principal sin of fraternizing with known Gorilla Unit “enemies” like Lil Wayne. Buck also apparently had the nerve to complain about not receiving royalty cheques and, like a true Boss, 50 Cent cut him loose. The problem with T.O.S. is that it was cut before Buck was cut and, as such, features five tracks with the most talented member G-Unit ever had.
50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks are left with the rest of T.O.S. and it is a featureless attempt ingrained in second-rate pop-rap rubbish. It’s filled to the lip with bogus millionaire vs. millionaire beefs for the purpose of hype and a number of songs about how hardcore the Unit wishes they were. They even lift lines from Wu-Tang to boost their fictional integrity (“Money Make the World Go Round”).
Thankfully the production is pretty tight, as the minimalistic approach has always served these guys best. Swiss Beatz supplies some magic on the best track “Get Down,” which by and large sounds like it belongs on another record with better rappers.
And there are rare bright spots, like the album’s lead track “Straight Outta Southside” or “You So Tough.”
Overall, though, T.O.S. is just another lukewarm entry for Mumbles and the Gang to labour through. “Rider Pt. 2” is about as mind-numbing as it gets and the title track is grating and dim-witted. It’s as though G-Unit is almost humiliated to cut some of these tracks. If they weren’t, they should have been.
T.O.S. finds a conked-out group of mediocre rappers stringing together a chain of suburban soft-core rap. This isn’t gangster rap; it’s soccer mom rap.
After having been owned by Kanye on the charts, Fiddy sounds distracted and befuddled and his crew isn’t much better. As bad as 50 Cent can get, the grand comfort with G-Unit is that there’s typically someone right behind him to come off worse.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Richard Jordanson
"The problem with T.O.S. is that it was cut before Buck was cut and, as such, features five tracks with the most talented member G-Unit ever had."
hahah no one would have ever heard of Buck if it were not for 50. and buck most talented ever??? lol, ever heard of: The Game???
2 - Jordan Richardson
Did The Game and G-Unit ever record a single track together, though? Kind of a technicality, I think, but you do have a point if you want one. That's like saying Bang 'Em Smurf and Domination were members of G-Unit.
3 - Eric
this guy is one of those people who hate G-Unit for there sucess and is waiting for them to fall but guess what. They are the hottest rap group out there and have been since 2003. He dosent know what he is talking about this album is better than the 1st. (the first was good too)
4 - Slugg
FIRE ALBUM FUCK THE REVIEW THIS SHIT IS STREET MY NIGGA HARCORE FO SHO FUCK THE HATERZ GO BUMO UR LIL GAYNE AND NAS U PUSSYZ!!!!!!! G UNIT
5 - fizzz
good review...this is comin from someone who liked beg for mercy...i agree with everything well done
6 - Jordan Richardson
I actually liked Beg for Mercy too. Pretty good pop-rap album. "Poppin' Them Thangs" is still one of my favourite tracks.
7 - Geezy
All you guys hating on the UNIT are gay, broke and insignificant to RAP MUSIC. Buck is a real nigga. 50 is realer.
8 - Jordan Richardson
All you guys hating on the UNIT are gay
I can't even begin to tell you how hard I laughed at this. Thanks, Geezy! Happy 4th!
9 - OHNO
BITCH NIGGAS DO BITCH THANGS N DATS WHAT YALL HATERS DOIN SO NOW NIGGAS DONT LIKE 50 Y HE RICH U NOT WHAT CHANGE WIT HIS FLOW SINCE GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN NOTHIN U CAN TAKE ALL 3 OF HIS ALBUM N C FA YOSELF N T.O.S. GON SELL YALL NIGGAS TAKIN SIDES CAUSE WHAT HE DID 2 BUCK DAT WAS A SMART MOVE N THIS CUMIN FROM A REAL NIGGA CAUSE YALL WOULD OF SAID HE WAS GRIMEY FA KICKIN HIM OUT WIT OUT KNOIN WHAT 4 HE SHOWED YALL Y HE KICK HIM OUT
TERMINATE ON SIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 - duane
What?
11 - gunit nigga
the guy who wrote this review is a hater fuck him this album was hot and gunit came hard
12 - Sammie
I listened to one of the singles on the TV "I like that" or something to that effect and was surprised at how mediocre it was .. it sounded like a song I would have heard from some dude on the internet makinig songs... 'Major' recording artists should usually have 'Major' talent.
It's funny because all (except Yayo) put out OK to good solo albums - maybe it's time to forget about G-Unit as a group and focus on Solo's and maybe have a 'feat' here and there on Solo discs.
The other problem I have with this 'group' is that Solo or ensemble they never really grow it's always the same thing... always...
Dre, Eminem, Snoop they all grew as artists from disc to disc ... same with Nas or Jay-z ... that's the key to not becoming crap.
13 - Bigmeat
i want to see all the guy come out and make a album man. then u can really see how it feels for a rap artist to write his music and pay loads of money to record it, only to be killed by your reviews.The album is good i'll give it a 75% so writing bad reviews means you either hate 50cent/G.unit or your a hater .so come out with your own album and let us see how it does with critics man Jordan Richardson bet u couldn't tell me how many bars has a verse stupid fuck
14 - Jordan Richardson
Nice name, Bigmeat. Very classy.
I actually don't think anyone from G-Unit cares if they're "killed" by any reviews. They make plenty of money, have plenty of fans, and will do just fine with or without my review or any other review. You're giving critics far too much credit.
I don't "hate" G-Unit, although I am amused by the amount of "hater" comments that come with the territory. I simply prefer better music, like Immortal Technique, Wu-Tang, Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Jedi Mind Tricks, MF Doom, and even Kanye. G-Unit isn't even close to those cats.
Also, "how many bars has a verse?" Do you mean to ask how many bars are in a verse? If so, usually 16. If not, I have no idea what the hell you're asking.
And why would I come out with my own album?
15 - Bigmeat
okay dude i see u familiar with hip hop!come out with your own album and let us review it and tell if it hot or not
16 - Bigmeat
thx man about the name i mean n how much u think they going to sell in the first week
17 - Trickz
is this review for real??? I loved the album
18 - Kris
you don't gotta be a fan to not be a hater. You had your mind made up before you heard it. all of your random comments that have nothing to due with the album are what show you are a hater. your review sucked because of how biased it was. I havent been a fan of them since 2004 but I liked the album because it was a gritty uncommercial album. If you don't want to be a sucky reviewer compare them to themselves or others in the same mold not blabber on about why they don't compare to your heroes.
19 - joe
chill ya haters got it all wrong, dis album is crack!!!
20 - Yo
50 Cent is washed up its official, from where i am from everyone makes fun of the new single she know i like it like that or w/e its a joke. And noone i know bothered wit the album. Its all about Nas, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Andre 3k when ever he drops suthin, wu tangs new album is fire, common, lupe fiasco, these guys are the faces of hip hop
21 - your nasty daddy
The album is dope nigger ... real hard shit .. just like I wanted it to be... I need no more than this shit .. I could listen to other shit .. but this is the real shit ... There is only 1 real shit ... and this shit is my shit ...
sales do not say much when u consider how many lil girls buy Wayne .. they dont get the msg that the Unit's sening out ... and Yep they're still hard ... they wouldnt plug you personally (well Banks would, but ok), they have tha papper for that. heehee /..
In front of hot'97 ... remember .. you better do ...
G-G-G-Gee you net..
22 - your nasty daddy
The last think on:
Why it's not something different? ...
We dont want nothing else... even when it would be somethin completely else, most of you (bitches) would say it's crap ...
The shit aint called - Fall in love on sight, but TERMINATE ON SIGHT ////
Yeah, Ima HATER . sooooo what ... ? I hate motherfuckers claiming shit aint shit, when this shit is some real shit ...
23 - Jordan Richardson
As if I didn't need more reasons to be a "hater," there's the 50 Cent: Blood On the Sand video game.
No, it's not a joke.
24 - tunla
I don't know why you niggers are mad about 50cent and Gunit...This guys has put an huge mark on the face of hip hop that no one can forget like NWA and Wu Tang...Well with your beefs and disses they are still getting $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ than your prefered cats.
25 - your nasty daddy
hey Jordan, you bitch .. I have to tell you that this is the 2nd game from 50 ... I hope that makes you happy .. cause I laugh at you now .. hahaaaa .. pussy
50 is expandin to all regions... music,movies,gaming,clothes,vitamin water,parfumes. A park in queens will be named after 50 (Curtis Jackson park -- that is mad skillzzz of business)
as Ludacriss would say >> REAL LIFE MONOPOLY , PROPERLY !!! <<
GOD DAYUM that new album is the shiiiit.