G-Unit is an American hip hop group that entered the music scene in the early 2000s. At the origins of the group are popular rappers: 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. The team was created thanks to the emergence of several independent mixtapes.
Formally, the group still exists today. She boasts a very impressive discography. Rappers have recorded several worthy studio LPs, EPs and dozens of mixtapes.
History of creation and composition of the team
As noted above, the origins of the G-Unit group are:
- 50 Cent;
- Lloyd Banks;
- Tony Yayo.
The rappers grew up in South Jamaica, the most populous borough of Queens, New York. They grew up together and got to know the "taste" of hip-hop. In their youth, the rappers agreed that they were ripe for creating a musical project.
The history of creation is connected with sad events. In early 2000, 50 Cent nearly died. Unknown shot up his car in South Jamaica. The bullets hit the chest, arms and face of the rapper. The doctors suggested that, most likely, he would no longer be able to go on stage.
The producers of Columbia Records began to worry not so much about their reputation, but about financial losses. They refused to cooperate with 50 Cent. The label even returned to the artist the finished debut LP Power of the Dollar (2000) and the money he invested in recording the record. 50 Cent was left without producers.
Lloyd Banks (Christopher Lloyd) and Tony Yayo (Marvin Bernard) decided not to leave their friend in trouble and offered to help. The trio's musical project was named G-Unit. It is a partial abbreviation for Guerilla-Unit. Translated from English, the creative pseudonym sounds like “Rebel Squad”, or from Gangster Unit, that is, “Gangster Squad”.
Today, the G-Unit team consists of two members - 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. For a certain period of time, the team included such performers: Lloyd Banks, Young Buck (David Brown), The Game (Jason Taylor) and Kidd Kidd (Curtis Stewart).
The creative path of the G-Unit group
50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo showed great performance. From 2002 to 2003 The musicians have released 9 mixtapes.
Interestingly, the popularity of the G-Unit team is inseparable from the success of 50 Cent. In 2002, Eminem signed the rapper to a $1 million deal with Shady Records. This collaboration led to the 2003 album Get Richor Die Tryin', which featured 50 Cent's debut tracks In Da Club and PIMP.
After the presentation of the presented album, the long-awaited popularity hit 50 Cent. This allowed him to create his own label, which was called G-Unit Records. After setting up an independent label, the trio announced to fans that they were focusing on recording their debut album. True, Tony Yayo did not participate in the process of creating the LP. The thing is, he went to jail. All the fault - illegal possession of firearms. The singer's place was taken by rapper Young Buck.
Debut album presentation
In 2003, the band's discography was finally replenished with a debut album. The record was called Beg for Mercy. In the United States of America, the collection was released with a circulation of more than 3,9 million copies, about 5,8 million copies were sold worldwide. Longplay became 4 times "platinum". The most vile track of the disc was the composition Poppin' Them Thangs.
After the successful presentation of the studio album, another new member of The Game joined the band. As a "promotion" Lloyd Banks and Young Buck invited the artist to their albums. They also helped release the debut compilation album The Documentary in 2005.
In a short period of time, The Game has become popular. The rapper began the so-called "star disease", which caused irritation in 50 Cent. At the insistence of the last newcomer, they were kicked out of the group.
In 2005-2006 G-Unit and The Game wrote diss at each other. The musicians "sling mud at each other." Sometimes the situation reached the point of absurdity. Many said that rappers are just PR on scandals.
A disc track, or diss song, is a composition whose main purpose is a verbal attack on another artist.
In 2008, the musicians presented their second studio album Terminate on Sight. The record was recorded in the genre of hard gangsta rap. The LP debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and sold 200 copies in a week.
Breakup of G-Unit
After the presentation of two very successful studio albums, G-Unit disappeared. Journalists said that the team suspended its activities forever. In 2014, Tony Yayo officially announced that the band was no more.
The reason for the dissolution of the group was the personal differences of the musicians. To the delight of fans, the G-Unit group unexpectedly announced their "resurrection" in the same 2014. The musicians performed at Summer Jam. In addition, they shared with fans that they are preparing something interesting for them.
In 2014, the presentation of the EP The Beauty of Independence took place. The collection debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200. From the list of submitted songs, fans especially noted the track Watch Me. Later, the musicians presented a video for the song.
The most recent work in the band's discography is The Beast Is G-Unit 2015. The work was released in 2015. The album contains 6 songs in total.
Interesting facts about the G-Unit group
- In 2004, the American team according to the Vibe Awards became the "Best Group of the Decade".
- The group is called the queen of hip-hop.
- Several clothing lines were produced under the G-Unit brand.
- The musicians signed a contract with Reebok to produce a line of sneakers under the G-Unit logo.
G-Unit group now
The musicians have repeatedly said in interviews that their team is standing still due to constant quarrels between the band members. The structure includes leaders who fight for a pedestal. The G-Unit group formally exists, but for mysterious reasons, the musicians do not want to release new music.
In 2018, Kidd Kidd told fans that he was leaving G-Unit. The rapper wanted to pursue a solo career. That same year, 50 Cent revealed to his fans that he had dropped Lloyd Banks from G-Unit Records.
To date, the only members of the team are 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. Musicians are more focused on their solo work. They do not comment on what fate awaits their common offspring.
