Animal Ambition
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Animal Ambition: An Untamed Desire to Win'', more commonly known as just ''Animal Ambition'', is the fifth studio album by American rapper
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
. The project was released on June 3, 2014, by
G-Unit Records G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2003 by rapper 50 Cent, the label was operated by Interscope Records until February 2014. Thereafter, distribution of G-Unit operated under Caroline Records a ...
and Caroline. All 11 tracks on the standard edition were issued as singles prior to the album's release. The album features
guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...
s from
Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...
,
Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...
,
Kidd Kidd Curtis Stewart (born November 26, 1983), better known by his stage name Kidd Kidd (formerly known as Nutt Da Kidd), is an American Rapping, rapper and singer and songwriter and record producer from New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one ...
,
Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...
, Mr. Probz, Guordan Banks, Prodigy,
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...
and
Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...
. ''Animal Ambition'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200, giving 50 Cent his fifth consecutive top five album in the country, while also debuting at number one on ''Billboard's''
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
chart.


Background

On December 4, 2013, while doing a press run for the launch of his SMS Audio line of headphones and speakers, 50 Cent announced that a "full body of work", titled ''Animal Ambition'' would be released in January 2014. In a December 2013, interview with DJ Whoo Kid, he reiterated plans for the album, saying: "I'm going to drop it in January, it's a full body of work, I wouldn't call it a mixtape because it's a higher grade than the material that I put out on mixtapes. I recorded so many album quality songs that I'm going to put the Animal project out as my viral marketing plan and then it will come out after, ''Street King Immortal''." In January 2014, while visiting the
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
, he explained his motivation to release new music in early 2014, saying: "I'm so anxious to put out material. It took me so long to get the business portion of music straight, because I had gone through an auditing process because it was the last record required for Interscope Records. And now, I got ''Animal Ambition'', I was inspired to write this. It really has to be current. If it's not like right now, what I feel is like the hottest thing, I know it's done right, but it's not necessarily what I should be doing right now." In a January 2014 interview with ''Sonic Electronix'', he said that he was recording heavily in preparation for both of the albums, saying, "I want to put ''Animal Ambition'' out in the first quarter. And then it'll lead up to ''Street King Immortal''. So it'll be twelve weeks. That's why I'm working so hard, when I leave here I go straight back to record again." He also said that ''Animal Ambition'' has a shared sound and theme throughout, saying, "With ''Animal Ambition'', the project is about prosperity. I got an interesting way of writing it, 'cause I wrote it from a distorted vision or viewpoint. When Biggie was doing 'Damn, niggas wanna stick me for my paper, damn,' that's about when you get something, the effects of others responding to you doing better. The jealousies connected to it, there's so many different ways to write it, that the album has those facets to it. The overall theme is ambition and prosperity." In a January 2014 interview with ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', he announced that he would release the album before ''Street King Immortal'', saying:
"There's an album I am putting out before ''Street King Immortal''. The title is called ''Animal Ambition''. It's an untamed desire to win. The record is overall about prosperity, ambition, and has an entrepreneurial energy—it's all from a distorted perspective. I just been really excited about the concept, been writing and had a lot of time to create material for the release because it's taken so long. So when you listen the record, you'll see it because I told you it, it's about ambition. If I didn't say that, you wouldn't listen to the record and say what's that song called? Cause when Biggie was saying, 'Damn, niggas wanna stick me for my paper,' that's writing prosperity, but the effects of it from others. Jealousy is created from you moving forward. I wrote it from a lot of different angles in order to create an album with all the facets I was comfortable with so it could all have one thing."
On February 20, 2014, 50 Cent left
Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...
,
Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records. The label's roster includes artists ...
and
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
, after a 12-year union and subsequently signed himself and
G-Unit Records G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2003 by rapper 50 Cent, the label was operated by Interscope Records until February 2014. Thereafter, distribution of G-Unit operated under Caroline Records a ...
to Caroline, an independent distributor of
Capitol Music Group Capitol Music Group is an American front-line umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, itself a division of Universal Music Group. Inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog in 2013, it oversees the handling of ...
. On the same day, he announced that the album would be released on June 3, 2014. In a February 2014 interview with ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' detailing his departure from Interscope, 50 stated, "I'm a special case and situation. It's also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don't want me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want o jeopardizeit over that little bit of money."


Release and promotion

In a May 2014, interview with the
Business News Network BNN Bloomberg is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name licensed from Bloomberg L.P. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is headquarte ...
, he spoke about the album's promotional campaign, saying: "I actually decided to create a campaign for the actual record that can sustain the audience. Because it has to sustain your interest for one week until the next song comes, until the next song comes, until the next song comes. And the actual visuals match the song so if you weren't impressed by the music you'll understand creatively why it's the way it is when you see the images. It's obviously a more complex presentation because you have to be really premeditated. You have to know what each one of your songs are gonna feel like. We only needed to know what three looked like. With three records because we're only shooting three music videos before you sold millions of records. The adjustments are technology." In June 2014, 50 announced that he would be accepting
Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
payments for the album, making him one of the biggest artists to use the cryptocurrency to date.


Singles

On February 21, 2014, the music video was released for "The Funeral". On March 18, 2014, the songs " Don't Worry 'Bout It", featuring
Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...
and " Hold On", were released via digital distribution, as the album's first and second singles. On March 18, 2014, the music video was released for "Hold On". On the same day, the music video was released for "Don't Worry 'Bout It" featuring Yo Gotti. On March 25, 2014, the album's third single "
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
" was released. On the same day, the music video was released for "Pilot". On March 31, 2014, the album's fourth single "
Smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
" featuring
Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...
and produced by
Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...
was serviced to
mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso * ' ...
radio in the United States. The following day, the music video was released for "Smoke" featuring Trey Songz. On April 15, 2014, the album's fifth single "Hustler" was released. On the same day, the music video for "Hustler" was released. On April 21, 2014, the music video for "Chase the Paper" featuring Prodigy,
Kidd Kidd Curtis Stewart (born November 26, 1983), better known by his stage name Kidd Kidd (formerly known as Nutt Da Kidd), is an American Rapping, rapper and singer and songwriter and record producer from New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one ...
and
Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop group the Lox. Formed with fellow rappe ...
premiered on
MTV Jams Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched as ...
. The following day, "Chase the Paper" was released as the album's sixth single. On April 29, 2014, the album's seventh single "Everytime I Come Around" featuring Kidd Kidd was released. On the same day, the music video was released for "Everytime I Come Around". On May 6, 2014, the album's eighth single "Irregular Heartbeat" featuring
Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss (, ), is an American rapper who began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed w ...
and Kidd Kidd was released. On the same day, the music video was released for "Irregular Heartbeat". On May 13, 2014, the album's ninth single "Winners Circle" featuring Guordan Banks was released. On the same day, the music video was released for "Winners Circle" featuring Guordan Banks. On May 19, 2014, the music video was released for "Twisted" featuring Mr. Probz. On May 20, 2014, the album's tenth single "Twisted" featuring Mr. Probz was released. On May 30, 2014, the album's eleventh single "Animal Ambition" was released. On June 3, 2014, the music video was released for "Animal Ambition". On June 24, 2014, the music video was released for "You Know".


Critical response

''Animal Ambition'' was met with generally mixed reviews. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 53, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 15 reviews. Killian Fox of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' wrote "unchanged are his limitations as a rapper, both technically and in his choice of subjects." Also adding, "The theme here, we are told, is prosperity and its discontents, but he doesn't do much more than flaunt it and berate people for hating his success." Sheldon Pearce of ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' said, "This release was essentially pitched as a concept album on how wealth alters perception and inspires envy, and though it's possible to follow this loose narrative, the execution of this idea is thoroughly botched. In truth, this wouldn't be so difficult to stomach if he wasn't still rapping (both lyrically and contextually) like it's 2004. ''Animal Ambition'' is a drastically underperformed gut punch marred by its own limitations and its obsessive portrayal of self-worth amid a recitation of ''Get Rich or Die Tryin buzzwords." David Jeffries of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said, "Consider it the album before the album, and it plays out as interesting and often awesome, but put this next to his major works and it seems a bit off and quirky." Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' wrote "Tracks like "Hold On" and "Pilot" have all the smirking charm of 50's glory days. At their best, they can even recall his time as a mixtape hustler with a world to conquer and nothing to lose." Jabbari Weekes of ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' wrote "''Animal Ambition'' showcases a very creatively confused 50 Cent, trapped in some sort of musical purgatory we can only hope he find his way out of." Brandon Soderberg of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' said, "''Animal Ambition'' half-assedly pimps the phony idea perpetuated by his Jesse Pinkman-like core fans and an increasingly clueless 50 Cent himself: that his success was built on bona fide gangster rap swagger rather than incredibly accessible club bangers." Ian Cohen of
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
said, "There may not be much Curtis Jackson on ''Animal Ambition'', but it does give an accurate survey of where 50 Cent is at right now." Eric Diep of '' XXL'' said, "50 Cent's credibility as a viable solo artist is still being tested every day. In a rare occasion for Fif, ''Animal Ambition'' has got everyone back on the 50 bandwagon and rooting for the second wind in his career. Now, with talks of a G-Unit album later this year, 50 Cent is on the fast-track to becoming the unstoppable force he once was. All of this only means 50 has to push even harder to elevate his status to that level, and with ''Animal Ambition'', he shows he's ready to put in the work." Jordan Sowunmi of '' Now'' said, "The album has a few bright spots: on Irregular Heartbeat, the emcee snarls the stone-faced threats that made him an irresistible menace in the early aughts. But it's not enough to save an album that's bogged down by a rapper – and production – stuck in the middle of the last decade." Jesse Cataldo of
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
wrote "It's unfortunate that 50 Cent can't offer more, tackling his anxieties head-on rather than burying them under the guise of shopworn gangster narratives, but while simple pleasures are about all ''Animal Ambition'' can offer, it at least presents them with listenable panache."


Commercial performance

Animal Ambition debuted at number four on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 46,000 copies in the United States giving 50 Cent his fifth consecutive top 5 album in the country. In its second week, the album dropped to number 15 on the chart, selling 17,000 copies. In its third week, the album dropped to number 23 on the chart, selling 10,000 copies. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number 39 on the chart, selling 7,200 copies. As of December 2014, the album has sold 124,000 copies in the United States. It would then sell over 1 million copies by the end of the year addition promoted with bitcoin finishing the ending of the period of the cycle. ''Animal Ambition'' also debuted at number one on ''Billboard's'' Independent Album's Chart.


Track listing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


References

{{Authority control 2014 albums 50 Cent albums Caroline Records albums G-Unit Records albums Albums produced by Dr. Dre Albums produced by Jake One Albums produced by Frank Dukes Albums produced by Ty Fyffe