T.O.S.

That the scandal surrounding the ignominious departure of arguably the most talented member of 50 Cent's four hip-hop horsemen sums up this despicable release.

Young Buck's lazy Southern drawl features on five of the 16 tracks, but only in a guest capacity after he was apparently given the boot for consorting with that other Guerilla pariah The Game. He is missing from the album artwork though, a good thing in my book because the soldiers look more like IT geeks laying some optic fibre than gun-slinging cutthroats.

'Straight Outta Southside' is a weak rip-off of classic NWA, and 'You So Tough' fires a broadside at T.I — 50 excels at dreaming up some 'beef' to hide a dearth of new ideas or strong verse. 'Kitty Kat' ("ohhhh I need cash for my kitty kat") is a lascivious lick at mediocrity and 'Rider Pt 2''s nauseating chorus ("Whoa Whoa Whoa…") is an insult to hip-hop lovers everywhere.

It's been five years since 'Beg for Mercy', but G Unit show no sign of evolving. There's nothing to approach the infectious 'Popping Them Thangs' or menace of 'I Smell P***y' — species that refuse to evolve become extinct. This is watered down teeny-bopper rap over repetitive minimalist beats while the clinical Loyd Banks drags his leader and the peg-legged Tony Yayo through the listing. Only 'Casualties of War' and 'Piano Man' stand up to more than one spin.

There is perhaps one reason to listen to this vehicle and that's Young Buck's 'Rider Pt 2' verse, dripping with so much irony, it's beautiful: "Nigga it's G-Unit, f*** your click/ Like syphillis bitch you stuck with this/ I'm a loyal, nigga, die behind mine/ Even if 50 dropped me I still wouldn't sign".

There's also a delicious irony in the title 'TOS'. Presumably 'POS' was considered too obvious, and 50 Cent is going for little more than 25 euro cents. Avoid like the Black Death.