50 Cent

The Ted Nugent of hip-hop seems to have reached his Little Miss Dangerous phase. On Fiddy’s fourth album, the -muscle-bound-warrior routine is the only one he trusts, so he keeps milking it. He’s still got the knack in the superb Dre production ”˜Death to My Enemies,’ baiting Lil Wayne over a stand-up bass: “This ain’t the Carter/Nigga, this is Sparta/It’s harder.” He crowds the guest list with Eminem (Octomom jokes? So last January!), R Kelly and Ne-Yo, while threatening Young Buck and the Game in ”˜So Disrespectful.’ This is an album where “Got more guns than a gun store” passes for wordplay ”“ but that’s how 50 sticks to basics.

Key Tracks: ”˜Death to My Enemies,’ ”˜So Disrespectful’