50 Cent "Guess Who's Back?"

Posted on 05.21.2002

50 Cent
Album: Guess Who’s Back?
Release Date: May 21, 2002
Label: Phantom

Review:

GUESS WHO’S BACK could mislead the uninitiated in that it’s far from a repackaging on the coattails of the fierce rapper’s multi-platinum breakthrough GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’. This collection culled from the Queens rapper’s much sought-after mix tapes and one shelved major-label release snuck out on a small label a few months prior to his Eminem-aided 2003 coming-out party on Shady Records. The title plays on his high-profile feuds with Ja Rule and Murder Inc. (among others); 50 Cent’s been shot, stabbed, and caught up in tons of intrigue, but he’s back. Unbowed he stands on the cover of GUESS WHO’S BACK, his figure a blur pointing a very clear gun just to the left of the camera. He backs up the bluster of this stance with a furious, uncompromising flow that’s closer to the streets than his Number One album. While underground heads will have most of the tracks, newer fans will get a glimpse of where 50 Cent came from. Nas, 50’s most obvious lyrical cousin in both imagery and severity, appears on a few tracks, including the brutal "Too Hot." 50 Cent is the epitome of the street (which makes his mainstream success all the more remarkable) and GUESS WHO’S BACK stands as a document of his authenticity.

Track Listings:

1 Killa Tape Intro
2 Rotten Apple
3 Skit / Drop
4 That’s What’s Up - (featuring G Unit)
5 U Not Like Me
6 50 Bars
7 We Don’t Play That
8 Life’s On The Line
9 Get Out The Club
10 F*ck You
11 Too Hot - (featuring Nas/Nature)
12 Who U Rep With - (featuring Nas/Bravehearts)
13 Corner Bodega
14 Ghetto Quaran
15 As The World Turns - (featuring UGK)
16 Whoo Kid Freestyle
17 Stretch Armstrong Freestyle
18 Doo Wop Freestyle