Beg For Mercy (G-Unit Album)

''Beg for Mercy'' is the debut studio album by American rap group G-Unit, released through Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. The album was released on November 14, 2003, nine months after 50 Cent's successful debut album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''.

For this release, G-Unit was composed of rappers 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck, with support from Tony Yayo, who was an original member of the group but due to his imprisonment in 2002 only appears on two songs. The Game was inducted into the group after recording sessions were finished.

Background

Following an assassination attempt and the subsequent industry blacklisting, 50 Cent focused on releasing mixtapes throughout 2002. This allowed him to generate public interest in his music. "At the time, 50's music was inescapable in New York", wrote ''Complex''. Several mixtapes were recorded and released under G-Unit, the group consisting of him and his childhood friends Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. His debut mixtape, '' Guess Who's Back?'', reached Eminem. Impressed with the project, Eminem introduced 50 Cent to Dr. Dre and helped him sign a $1 million record deal. In 2003, 50 Cent released his debut album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin'''. By the end of the year, the album sold 12 million copies worldwide and was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While working on a follow-up album, 50 Cent decided to delay it and instead release G-Unit's debut album, ''Beg for Mercy''.

Recording

As the album was recorded, Tony Yayo was sentenced to jail on charges of gun possession and bail jumping, and so he makes only two appearances on the entire record, on the tracks "Groupie Love", and "I Smell Pussy". His image, which is from a photo taken from the photo shoot for ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''', is seen on the brick wall of the album cover as he could not be photographed due to the jail sentence.

Release

''Beg for Mercy'' was released on November 14, 2003, four days earlier than planned to combat piracy. Due to the rush release, some stores did not receive the album in time. The album was released on the same day as Jay-Z's '' The Black Album'', which was billed as his final album before retirement. Although they had toured together earlier that year, rumors suggested growing tensions between 50 Cent and Jay-Z. The release date change for ''Beg for Mercy'' was announced a day after that of ''The Black Album'', which had also suffered from piracy.

Four copies of ''Beg for Mercy'' from the first batch contained a golden ticket, redeemable for a diamond-encrusted G-Unit medallion valued at $12,500.

Commercial performance

50 Cent was confident in the commercial performance of ''Beg for Mercy'' and planned to set a first-week sale record with it. The album debuted at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 377,000 copies sold in the first week, behind 2Pac's '' Tupac: Resurrection'' and Jay-Z's ''The Black Album''. On the second week, ''Beg for Mercy'' peaked at No. 2 with 327,000 more copies sold, and another 193,000 copies sold in the third week. By April 2008, it had sold over 2.7 million units in the U.S. and has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Critical reception

Most music critics commended the album's production but criticized the lyrical themes. Opinions were divided on the performances of the G-Unit members. ''Rolling Stone'' Christian Hoard praised the album's "cinematic, bouncy" production, along with the vocal performance of the members of G-Unit. In contrast, Soren Baker, reviewing for ''Los Angeles Times'', commended 50 Cent's "animated, at times sing-song delivery", but panned "the monotone Banks and the supercharged but lyrically bankrupt Buck". ''Entertainment Weekly'' Tom Sinclair thought G-Unit members successfully combine their brash style with a sense of charisma. Steve Juon of ''RapReviews'' thought the group members balance each other out. He praised the album, adding that its weak moments are "few and far between".

Many reviewers were dissatisfied with the lyrical content of the album. Summarizing the album, Joe Warminsky of ''The Washington Post'' said that its "dullness is deafening, and also contagious", adding that it is "about gangstas who are nearly bored with their alleged success". Comparing ''Beg for Mercy'' to 50 Cent's previous projects, Jon Caramanica in a review for ''Blender'' said that "50's signature wit is notably absent". Describing the album's lead single "Stunt 101" as a "glamour-happy" song, he believed that it does not represent the rest of the album, which "play like a document of struggle, not a celebration of success". ''E! Online'' criticized the album's subject matter, but thought that some of its tracks have "just the right mix of humor and heat".

Marc Lamont Hill, in his review for ''PopMatters'', called ''Beg for Mercy'' "one of the strongest albums of the year". He liked the production of the album, but criticized its subject matter and the focus on 50 Cent. ''The Observer'' writer Kitty Empire agreed with him, calling it "50's second album this year". However, she was more critical, calling some of the album's tracks "creatively bankrupt depths" that are "labouring gangsta rap clichés with a total absence of humour, originality or self-awareness" and describing its production as "lazy rip-offs of Dr Dre's style". The album's themes were the main focus of Andy Gill's review for ''The Independent''. "The lyrics to ''Beg for Mercy'' read like some grotesque cross between '' Hustler'' and '' Guns & Ammo''", wrote the critic.

In a retrospective review, Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic wrote that he views ''Beg for Mercy'' as an event, in context of its release alongside Jay-Z's ''The Black Album'', and while "it's not quite as exciting" otherwise, it is still better than other 2003 rap albums. "''Beg for Mercy'' is surprisingly solid, sounding very much like a whole rather than the usual hodgepodge of singles and filler", concluded the journalist.

Track listing

Samples
* "G-Unit" contains samples of "Million Dollars" by Triumvirat
* "My Buddy" contains samples of "Agony or Ecstasy?" by Ennio Morricone, and audio excerpts from the film '' Scarface''.
* "Wanna Get to Know You" contains samples of "Come Live with Me Angel" by Marvin Gaye.
* "Groupie Love" contains samples of "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green.
* "Betta Ask Somebody" contains samples of "Blue Leopard" by Pierre-Alain Dahan.
* "Footprints" contains samples of "Walk with Me" by Martha Bass.
* "Eye for Eye" contains samples of "Hello Love" by Eden Raskin.
* "Smile" contains samples of "I Too Am Wanting" by Syreeta
* "Salute U" contains samples of "Brandenburg Concerto #1 in F Major (Allego Moderato)" by Johann Sebastian Bach
* "Beg for Mercy" contains samples of "Back Down" by 50 Cent
* "Lay You Down" contains samples of "Doctor Marvello" by Klaatu
* "I Smell Pussy" contains samples of "The Greatest Sex" by R. Kelly
* "Collapse (G-Unit Freestyle)" contains samples of "Till I Collapse" by Eminem

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

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2003 debut albums
G-Unit albums
G-Unit Records albums
Interscope Records albums
Albums produced by Dr. Dre
Albums produced by Scott Storch
Albums produced by Hi-Tek
Albums produced by Jake One
Albums produced by No I.D.
Albums produced by Eminem
Albums produced by DJ Khalil
Albums produced by Red Spyda
Albums produced by Megahertz (record producer)