On April 24, 2000, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was shot 9 times, just outside his grandma's house. When news broke out, the news industry were reporting it as if it was a rapper no-one knew about. Jackson spent 13 days in the hospital trying to recover.
Well... let's rewind back to before he got shot where he was an aspiring rapper trying to make it out the hood.
50 Cent was originally signed to Columbia at the time. After leaving Jam Master Jay's label due to album shelving, he released "How to Rob" and "Rowdy Rowdy", two songs from the In Too Deep movie soundtrack. "How To Rob" was the most popular one as it was known for him dissing the music industry (and a lot of people took action), including Mariah (well, he had to change that lyric), Diddy, Wu-Tang and more. He also ended up releasing "Thug Love" with labelmates Destiny's Child and "Ya Life's on the Line", a Ja Rule diss. Then he got shot, at a time where he was supposed to release his debut (which was to be Power of the Dollar).
When 50 recovered from the shot and the injuries, he stayed with his ex-girlfriend and son in the Poconos. He returned to music, only to realize he was blacklisted in the industry, apparently because of a song called "Ghetto Qu'ran". He had to record new music in Canada, and release mixtapes to create a new buzz. Guess Who's Back was a compilation of rare (underground) and new songs [and it's also the album that got him signed], while 50 Cent Is The Future was a mixtape recorded with his crew, G-Unit.
50 Cent Is The Future was the first mixtape for both 50 Cent and his group, G-Unit. It was 1/3 of Unit mixtapes released in 2002. Recorded in Canada, the mixtape has the group revisit material from artists such as Raphael Saadiq, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang and Jay-Z. The original G-Unit consisted of 50, the de facto leader of the squad, Lloyd Banks (aka The PLK/Punchline King) who was (and still is) the people's favourite member, and Tony Yayo, the weakest link [all this was before Young Buck was a member]. Although the G-Unit Radio mixtape series would prove to have a bigger impact on the mixtape game, this tape sure did have a massive impact on the rap industry, and gained 50 and the crew popularity,
Anyway... let's do this!
1. You Should Be Here
So the group starts out by messing with an R&B track from Raphael Saadiq. This is not bad. It's a good starter. 50 and the gang switches it up and it's nice. Of course, I always thought Lloyd Banks did the best part because... well, he's Banks. Yayo (as usual) was just being a hypeman, a frequent reason why a lot of people don't like him. But, this song's good.
2. Bump Dat (Street Mix)
50 & Yayo do their own version of Havoc's "Bump Dat" (although credited as Mobb Deep). The original track with both 50 and Big Noyd wouldn't be heard until Free Agents, a Mobb Deep mixtape. Anyway, this is great. Tony Yayo's verse wasn't that bad, compared to the other songs he has done. But the original will always be better than this. This is just decent, compared to that.
3. The Banks Workout
Pretty much the best track on this tape. Period.
4. Whoo Kid/Kay Slay Shit
50 does a solo to Mobb Deep's "Crawlin" and it's nice. Too bad it's quick...
5. Just F***ing Around
50 does another one with a Mase song and "Biggie". As the title suggests, he's just playing, especially in the first part. But I like the second part more, mainly because he shows off a lot here. Not bad though, just decent.
6. G-Unit Soldiers
The whole crew gets on "Losin Weight" [by Cam'ron & Prodigy] and it's good. Banks & Yayo have two verses as they share the mic (well... kinda). Yayo messes up, as usual; while Banks has a nice rap to fit in. This is a nice song. Like it, but it's short.
7. Got Me A Bottle
50 & Banks do a party track together, changing "model" to "bottle". Banks does a short and sweet verse, and 50 concludes decently, and he has fun with it. This is a nice laidback track and I like how they jump on a popular track. It's great!
8. Tony Yayo Explosion
Yayo raps to one of my favourite Mobb Deep tracks [aka Eye for an Eye (Your Beef is Mines)], but the thing is, he's rubbish with it. So... MEH!
9. Clue/50
This song is actually nice. Great freestyle from 50 and with DJ Clue giving him a beat. Once again, it's really quick, but I like it. Really decent.
10. A Lil Bit of Everything (with UTP)
Before being a G-Unit member, Young Buck was part of a group called UTP, which was formed by Cash Money member Juvenile. Anyway, The Unit works with UTP on a Southern street track that sounds like it could've been UTP or the Unit's first single. Young Buck does his thing with his hungry flow, Banks, as usual, kills this track. Skip & Juvenile were alright, with 50 just having a mediocre verse. But this song has a very catchy beat. And how the song mixes with a verse from 1 UTP member and one from the Unit is very appealing as they share the mic. Nevertheless, I love this.
11. Cutmaster C Shit
50 does a remix to Geto Boys "No Nuts, No Glory". This song was also the intro to his compilation, Guess Who's Back. Anywho, this song is great. I liked the smooth remixed beat from Cutmaster C and the catchy lyrical flow. The song has something really raw from 50 and it interests me. My second favourite on this tape.
12. Call Me
50 & Yayo does a remix to Tweet's "Call Me". 50 starts out nice, so it had potential. But I don't know who's on the second part, but he/she's good. But Yayo ruins it as usual, so it just comes out as decent.
13. 50/Banks
This is not bad. It's alright. 50 does his thing and it's nice how he says shout-outs are played out, while Banks murks this with his hungry flow. A really great song from the two.
14. Surrounded by Hoes
I love this. Gives me a lot of nostalgia, and also the party/club flow from 50. Too bad it's quick...
15. That's What's Up
AWWWWW YEAAAAAAH!! This is my all-time favourite on this tape. Taking a Wu-Tang beat and turning it into a better track. I know that it's hip-hop blasphemy when I say this, especially when Wu-Tang are seen as one of the best rap groups, but I love this more than the original. I'm joking! Of course, the original is better, but this is great. Banks starts us off and he bangs this out like it's nothing. 50 continues with a mediocre verse, while Yayo actually comes off strong unlike usual. I love this song!
16. Bad News
Now it's over. The group concludes with a banger which samples "Feeling Good", and it's good. Banks once again starts with a great verse. Yayo coming out strong with 50 having a nice one. I like the gangsta vibe to this and it comes out as a banging type of song that could've been from Ruff Ryders. Well, the tape is now finished...
You know, with this mixtape, it's kinda hard to describe it. I mean, it's a great tape, but then I can't really say it's not good at the same time. It's confusing and let me tell you why. G-Unit were at a time where they were to prove that they were gonna take over the rap game. This mixtape had the group taking beats and making it their own. The crew manages to come off strong. The only flaws are Yayo and sometimes the flows. 50's raps weren't that great, but were quickly improved especially in "Cutmaster C Shit" and "That's What's Up". Lloyd Banks shows his hunger a lot, with zero flaws of his raps at all, while Yayo is just terrible. He only does well on 3 tracks. The beatpicking is really nice and the group knows what to do with those songs. However, the tape is a bit quick, and feels like those songs are just interludes. 50 and the crew just gives us 16 or less bars (especially with a lot of talking at the end of songs). Heck, Banks is the only one that has his own track with "The Banks Workout" and that's more than just 16 bars. 50 Cent Is The Future is a really great mixtape, especially with the beatpicking and flows. Even with 2 minor flaws, do I recommend a download/listen... or not? Well... it depends if you don't like quick stuff or if you like hunger from the crew (well, of course not Yayo). I'll let you decide...
The Furious 5ive
The Banks Workout
That's What's Up
Cutmaster C Shit
Surrounded By Hoes
Bad News
Honourable Mentions
Bump Dat (Street Mix)
A Lil Bit of Everything
50/Banks
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