G-Unit
New York hip-hop group founded by 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.
G-Unit, an abbreviation for Guerilla-Unit, was an American hip-hop group made up of East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks, who had been friends for years. That record sold over two million copies in the United States and earned a double platinum certification from the RIAA.
Quick Facts
- Also known as
- Guerilla-Unit
- Origin
- Queens, New York City, U.S.
- Genre
- Hardcore hip-hop; gangsta rap
- Years active
- 1999–2014, 2014–2022
- Label
- Interscope; G-Unit
- Past members
- 50 Cent
- Tony Yayo
- Lloyd Banks
- Young Buck
- The Game
- Kidd Kidd
Facts from the source article.
History
G-Unit started with three friends from South Jamaica, Queens: 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. They grew up together and began rapping as a group. The best-known of those were 50 Cent Is the Future, God's Plan, No Mercy, No Fear, and Automatic Gunfire. Not long after Jam Master Jay was killed in an unsolved murder, 50 Cent—who had been signed to JMJ Records since the mid-1990s—got a call from Eminem. Eminem brought him onto Shady Records, which operated under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. As part of the deal, 50 Cent got his own imprint, which became G-Unit Records. He quickly signed Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo to the label, and the trio started work on a debut album. But Tony Yayo was in jail at the time and couldn't record anything new. That led 50 Cent to sign Young Buck, a rapper from Tennessee, and bring him into the group. G-Unit's first major-label appearance as a full group came on the remix of 50 Cent's single "P.I.M.P.," which also featured Snoop Dogg, Banks, and Young Buck. The record included guest spots from R&B singers Joe and Butch Cassidy, and production from big names like Hi-Tek, Dr. Dre, and Scott Storch, among others. 50 Cent served as executive producer. Because Tony Yayo was still locked up, he only appears on two tracks, both using vocals recorded before his sentence. His face shows up on the album cover's brick wall since he couldn't be photographed while in prison. Beg for Mercy sold more than 3.9 million copies in the United States and 5.8 million worldwide, earning a quadruple Platinum certification from the RIAA.
Controversies
Before 50 Cent signed with Interscope, he was already in a conflict with rapper Ja Rule and his Murder Inc. label. Ja Rule, however, claimed it began at a video shoot in Queens, where 50 Cent supposedly resented how much love Ja Rule was getting from the neighborhood. Things turned violent at a New York studio when Black Child, an artist on Murder Inc., stabbed 50 Cent, leaving him with four stitches. The feud seemed to cool off, but then Ja Rule dropped a track called "21 Gunz." Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent fired back with "Return of Ja Fool," which appeared on Banks' mixtape Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 4, Gang Green Season Starts Now. Later, Ja Rule told MTV that his upcoming album, The Mirror, would not continue any of his past feuds. Even before The Game's debut album The Documentary came out and the beef went public, there was already tension between him and 50 Cent. After the album's release, 50 Cent accused The Game of disloyalty for refusing to take part in G-Unit's ongoing beefs with other rappers and for wanting to collaborate with artists G-Unit was feuding with, like Nas and Jadakiss. 50 Cent also claimed he didn't get enough credit for The Documentary, saying he wrote five of its songs—something The Game denied. During the dispute, The Game confronted 50 Cent at Hot 97's studio in New York City. Members of The Game's crew started shooting at 50 Cent and other G-Unit members, forcing them to flee the building. In response, Hot 97 security shot a member of The Game's entourage. As things escalated, 50 Cent and The Game held a press conference to announce they had made up. Fans were split on whether the whole thing was a publicity stunt to boost sales of their recently released albums. Even after that apparent reconciliation, G-Unit kept feuding with The Game, who struck back at a Summer Jam performance by launching a boycott called "G-Unot."
More in Hip-hop Groups from New York City
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