Pitchfork

It's kind of a goofy move for 50 Cent to release an album called Before I Self Destruct in 2009-- most of us would've said he self-destructed a few years ago. 50's been in downward-spiral mode for a minute now; first his Curtis famously lost its 2007 sales-battle with Kanye West's Graduation, and then G-Unit sophomore effort T.O.S. bricked hard last summer. But 50's still out there, stamping his name on reality TV shows and ridiculous video games. And his new album might be the final test of whether the old superstar-rapper model can exist in the Era of Wayne. Before I Self Destruct, already pushed back from December 2008, doesn't have a release date yet, but it does now have a tracklist. And, courtesy of Nah Right, here it is, along with production credits and guests:

01 Intro
02 Came to Win [produced by Red Spyda]
03 Get Up [produced by Scott Storch]
04 Need Your Hate [Produced by Dr. Dre]
05 Here for a Reason [ft. Nate Dogg] [produced by tha Bizness]
06 Good to Be a Gangsta [produced by Ty Fyffe & Sha Money XL]
07 Don't Mess With 50 [produced by Don Cannon]
08 Trust in Me [produced by J.R. Rotem]
09 Norman Bates Motel [ft. Eminem] [produced by Dr. Dre]
10 Bitch I'm Sorry [produced by Needlz]
11 All for You [produced by Hi-Tek]
12 No Time to Lose [ft. Swizz Beatz] [produced by the Individuals]
13 Lonely at the Top [produced by Play-N-Skillz]
14 You Need Us [ft. Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo] [produced by DJ Khalil]
15 Different Path [ft. Dave Young] [produced by Havoc]
16 I Get It In [produced by Dr. Dre]
17 Somebody Forgive Me [produced by Jake One]
18 My Reign [produced by Eminem]
19 Ready for War [ft. Dr. Dre] [produced by Dr. Dre]

Hey, Nate Dogg! And it's also good to see Don Cannon's name somewhere in that mix, since that guy is constitutionally incapable of making a non-exciting beat. Also, the title of "Norman Bates Motel" promises a return of Eminem's crazy-guy persona, which has been sorely missed lately-- "I'm Having a Relapse" just reminded us of how ridiculously great that guy can be when he gives enough of a fuck. But yeah, most of these songs could come from a random G-Unit song title generator, and none of them come anywhere near suggesting 50 is back on his hungry Get Rich or Die Tryin' shit. (Ha ha "You Need Us".)

Also, Nah Right has second single "I Get It In", which is at least a step up from the god-awful boring "Get Up" with its goofy-ass video about 50 waking up a frozen video chick in a dystopian future. It's got a slick little minor-key Dre synth-line and one of those singsong melodies 50 loves delivering. Still, if this album has a "What Up Gangsta" or an "I Get Money" or even, like, a "Get in My Car", we haven't heard it yet.

Before I Self Destruct will supposedly include a DVD of a new feature film with that same title, starring and directed by 50.

In related news, the final version of Eminem's "Crack a Bottle", which features 50 and Dr. Dre, leaked today. It's not very good.