From the
time I heard the original G-Unit
line-up (sans Buck), it was evident
that Tony Yayo was
the weak link of the bunch. Even with inclusion of Buck, a mediocre emcee at best, Yayo isn’t sounding much better. His lyrical abilities pale in
comparison to those of Banks and he
doesn’t have the charisma 50 does to
carry a song. He pretty much has two things going for him: his voice and being
a part of that whole Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit
machine that sells a record from time to time.

Speaking of said machine and their seemingly flawless marketing these days, I’m
shocked they would let him name his album Thoughts
of a Predicate Felon when I’m positive that 99% of his fan base have no
idea what ‘predicate’ means. A little beyond 7th graders, no? Sorry, that was
just too easy (and partially true, who are we kidding here?). So here we are – Yayo, frequent parole violator and
jailbird – the last G-Unit emcee to
get his LP on the shelves.

As expected the album follows the same formula as that of his peers; street
song, club song, pimp song, song for the ladies, requisite guest spots from 50, Em, beat or two from Dre, etc. With his unoriginal, been
there, heard that a few thousand times lyrics, cookie-cutter delivery, Yayo doesn’t have a whole lot going for
him. Though I would assume he would be laced with the usual banging production
from his camp. But from the outset things don’t look so promising. He butchers
the sinister strings on “Homicide” by obnoxiously shouting his rhymes. I know
y’all just signed M.O.P. but damn.
After that the album pretty much drifts from decent (“It Is What It Is,” “I
Know You Don’t Love Me”), to mediocre (“Tattle Teller,” “Eastside, Westside”
“G-Shit”), to just god awful (“Curious,” “Pimpin,” “Project Princess”).

There are some high points; the 50 Cent
assisted “So Seductive” is a worth while club banger, and the posse cut with Em and Obie (“Drama Setter”), is pretty dope stuff. The cold-as-ice Dr. Dre offering “Live By The Gun” is
far and away the album’s gem. 16 other songs that good and then I’d be praising
like this album as I have most of their other work. Shiit, even an album full
of “We Don’t Give A Fuck” caliber songs would’ve worked. I’m not gonna act like
I expected this album to be on par with the albums from 50,
Banks
or Game,
but I did expect it to be better than Buck’s.
It isn’t, and it’s a pretty disappointing album if you ask me. And yo, did dude
really sample a Britney Spears song?
Gangsta…