Personnel: Tony Yayo (rap vocals); Eminem, G-Unit, 50 Cent, Joe, Jagged Edge, Lloyd Banks, Obie Trice, Olivia, Spider Loc (rap vocals). <p>On 50 Cent posse G Unit's platinum first release, 2004's BEG FOR MERCY, Tony Yayo appears as a ghost, pictured in the flap but unable to rap on the record due to his incarceration on a weapons charge. When Yayo was freed from prison he cut his debut solo record, THOUGHTS OF A PREDICATE FELON. It bears the mark of a man releasing a lifetime of pent-up rhymes in a torrent, yet he delivers his raps with the kind of deliberation that helped made Biggie Smalls a household name. <p>The album opens on a note befitting its title, as Yayo spins a grim tale of vengeance on "Homicide," followed by glimpses of violent autobiography on "It Is What It Is" and a scathing indictment of snitches on "Tattle Teller." Despite his harsh presence, Yayo excels on tracks of love and desire, as on the soulful slow jam, "Curious," and the brash club crawler, "So Seductive." However, these respites from the dark are rare, as Yayo and the ever-ready Eminem make plain on "Drama Setter," where Yayo's disturbingly focused lyrics are consummate tension builders. THOUGHTS OF A PREDICATE FELON has the feel of a horror movie, but the kind where the terrors are the products of a tortured mind.