''Thoughts of a Predicate Felon'' is the debut studio album by American rapper

Tony Yayo Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his deb ...

. It was released on August 30, 2005 through

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released t ...

/ Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at Sound One, at Integrated Studios, Sony Music Studios, G Unit Studios, Sound On Sound and Right Track Recording in New York, at 54 Sound in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, at Encore Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and at Joi Studios in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled by Focus..., Eminem, Black Jeruz,

DJ Khalil Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard (born October 16, 1973), professionally known as DJ Khalil, is an American music producer and DJ from Los Angeles. He is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific (along with rapper Chace Infinite) an ...

, Domingo,

Havoc High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) is a set of crewed NASA mission concepts to the planet Venus. All human portions of the missions would be conducted from lighter-than-air craft or from orbit. Background Venus is a planet with a r ...

J. R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem is a South African-born record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israeli immigrant parents. He moved to Canada at the age of two an ...

, LT Moe, Megahertz, Punch,

Ron Browz Rondell Edwin Turner (born December 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Ron Browz (), is an American recording artist and record producer from Harlem, New York. He initially gained major recognition after producing the Jay-Z diss track, "E ...

Sam Sneed Sam Sneed (born Sam Anderson; February 29, 1968) is an American producer and rapper. He originally got his start working as a producer for K-Solo and the Hit Squad. Biography Early years In 1993 he was signed to Death Row Records, releasing o ...

, Sebb, Studio 44, and

Sha Money XL Sha or SHA may refer to: Places * Sha County, Fujian, China * Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, (IATA code) * Sia, Cyprus, also spelled ''Sha'' * Sagamihara Housing Area, an army installation in Japan * Vehicle registration plates in t ...

, who also served as co-executive producer. It features guest appearances from fellow

members 50 Cent, who also served as executive producer,

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After th ...

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, T ...

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...

and

Spider Loc Curtis Williams (born January 19, 1976), more commonly known as Spider Loc, is an American rapper and actor. He was formerly signed to Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. Biography Spider Loc was discovered by Suge Knight and t ...

, as well as Eminem, Obie Trice, Jagged Edge, Joe and

Kokane Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American recording artist best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''. Early life ...

. In the United States, the album debuted at number two on both the ''Billboard'' 200 and the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

charts with 215,000 copies sold in its first week. The album produced three singles, "

So Seductive "So Seductive" is a song by Tony Yayo as the first single from his debut album '' Thoughts of a Predicate Felon'' (2005), it features guest vocals from 50 Cent, and was produced by Punch, who helped write the song along with Tony Yayo and 50 Ce ...

", "

Curious Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...

", and " I Know You Don't Love Me", and one promotional single "Drama Setter", as well as three music videos for "So Seductive", "Curious"/" Pimpin'" and "I Know You Don't Love Me" starring G-Unit.

Background

"With 50, he has the notoriety of hit records. I actually wrote 'Seductive' before he wrote '

Candy Shop "Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album, ''The Massacre'' (2005). It features Olivia (singer), Olivia and was written by 50 Cent. "Candy Shop" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

'. hat's whyyou hear him say 'so seductive' n the 'Candy Shop' intro 50, he plays a big part in all our albums. I feel like we can stand on our own cause we're writing all our material," Tony told SOHH.com. "50, he just adds on. I love to hear 50 get on a record. I love the way 50 rides the beat. I did 'Seductive', 50 came on it and I was like, 'I gotta keep him on it' cause it sounds ten times better with him on it." The album was delayed and highly anticipated, due to Tony Yayo's time in prison. The songs "So Seductive" and "Live By The Gun" were featured in the 2005

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

video game '' 50 Cent: Bulletproof''. Tony Yayo appears in the video game providing his own voice and likeness and is a playable character in arcade mode.

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. Some critics noted that the album had stellar production but thought that Tony's vocals and lyrics were not up to par. Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'',

Christian Hoard Christian David Hoard is an American music journalist and music editor for '' Rolling Stone''. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan, he began his career as a music journalist writing for the ''Michigan Daily''. He later moved to New York ...

said: "With the exception of a few complete duds, Felon is a solid stopgap, although it may also mark the moment when designer bullet holes start to go out of fashion".

Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer. ;Sample credits *Track 1 contains recreated dialogue from ''

American Me ''American Me'' is a 1992 American crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana, loose ...

'' *Track 2 contains elements from "Los Hombres De Rabia Tambien Lloran" written by Eliseo Zorrilla and performed by

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship. After 12 ye ...

*Track 4 contains elements from "

Sara Smile "Sara Smile" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates. It was released as the third single from their album '' Daryl Hall & John Oates''. The song was the group's first top 40 and first top ten hit in the US, reachi ...

" written by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

and performed by

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

*Track 6 contains resung elements from "

Mr. Telephone Man "Mr. Telephone Man" is a song by New Edition, and the second single from their eponymous second album, ''New Edition''. Released as a single, by December 8, 1984, it was being added to the most "Hot Black" radio station playlists. Overview "Mr ...

" by

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

*Track 11 contains elements from "

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

" by

Morris Albert Maurício Alberto Kaisermann (born 7 September 1951), better known by his stage name Morris Albert, is a Brazilian singer and songwriter best known for his 1974 single "Feelings". Biography Albert was born into an Austrian immigrant family. At ...

*Track 12 contains elements from "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

" by Britney Spears and "

Tere Mere Beech Mein "Tere Mere Beech Mein" ("Between You and Me") is an Indian Hindi song from the Bollywood film ''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' (1981). The song was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal. Anand Bakshi was the lyricist of this song and he won a Filmfare Award for B ...

" written by Laxmikant Kudalkarand, Pyarelal Sharma and Anand Bakshi and performed by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

*Track 15 contains elements from "Early Ev'ry Morning" written by

Eugene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart with " A Hun ...

and

Leon Pendarvis Leroy Leon Pendarvis (born 1945) is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist. The artists he has worked with over the years include Bonnie Raitt on her ''Streetlights'' album ...

and performed by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

Personnel

*Marvin "

" Bernard – main artist *Derick Prosper – vocals & score (track 1), A&R *Dré McKenzie – vocals (track 1) *Curtis "

" Williams – vocals (track 3) *Curtis " 50 Cent" Jackson – vocals (tracks: 5, 8, 11, 15, 16), executive producer *Marshall " Eminem" Mathers – vocals & producer (track 7), additional producer (track 3), mixing (tracks: 3, 7) * Obie Trice – vocals (track 7) *Christopher "

" Lloyd – vocals (tracks: 8, 15) *

Olivia Longott Olivia Theresa Longott (born February 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer. She is best known for performing with the hip-hop group G-Unit and also known as a cast member on the VH1 reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''. Ea ...

– vocals (track 8) *Joseph " Joe" Thomas – vocals (track 10) *Jerry "

" Long, Jr. – vocals (track 11) * Jagged Edge – vocals (track 13) *David "

" Brown – vocals (track 15) *Hailu – backing vocals (track 17) *Kenyatta Beasley – score (track 1) *Carlos "C12" Bess – score & mixing (track 1) *Eric "E Bass" Johnson – bass (track 2) * Luis Resto – additional keyboards (tracks: 3, 7), additional producer (track 7) *Stu " Bassie" Brooks – additional bass (track 5), bass (track 14) * Steven King – guitar & bass (track 7), mixing (tracks: 3, 7) *

Jeff Bass Jeffrey Bass ( ; born May 16, 1961) is an American music producer from Detroit, Michigan, best known as one half of the Bass Brothers and for his work with Eminem. Career At age 16, Bass, along with 4 of his childhood friends formed Detroit-b ...

– keyboards & additional producer (track 7) *Tony Burgess – guitar & additional producer (track 10) * Domingo Padilla – producer (track 2) *Sébastien "Sebb" Vuignier – producer (track 3) *Robert "Black Jeruz" Smith – producer (track 4) *Michael "

" Clervoix – producer (track 4), co-executive producer *Mike "Punch" Harper – producer (track 5) *Bernard " Focus..." Edwards, Jr. – producer (tracks: 6, 13, 17) *Jonathan " J.R." Rotem – producer (track 8) *Todd " LT Moe" Moore – producer & recording (track 9) *Samuel "

" Anderson – producer (track 10) *

Abdul-Rahman – producer (track 11) *Dorsey " Megahertz" Wesley – producer (track 12) *Rondell "

" Turner – producer (track 14) *Studio 44 – producer (track 15) *Kejuan "

" Muchita – producer (track 16) *Steve Simons – recording (track 1) *Ky Miller – recording (tracks: 2–6, 8, 11–17) *Mike Strange – recording (track 7), additional recording (track 3) *Tony Campana – recording (track 7), additional recording (track 3) *Taurus Scott – recording (track 7) *Nicholas "Aqua" McCarrell – recording (track 10) *Pat Viala – recording (tracks: 10, 11), mixing (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 10–13, 15–17) *Wesley Morris – recording (track 13) *Steve Baughman – mixing (tracks: 4, 5, 9, 14) *Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri – mixing (track 4) *Brian "

Big Bass Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and da ...

" Gardner – mastering *Marcus Heisser – A&R * Jonathan Mannion – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Tony Yayo albums 2005 debut albums G-Unit Records albums Albums produced by Eminem Interscope Records albums Albums produced by Focus... Albums produced by DJ Khalil Albums produced by Ron Browz Albums produced by Sam Sneed Albums produced by J. R. Rotem Albums produced by Sha Money XL Albums produced by Havoc (musician)