Unified Front

At first, it was just something 50 Cent yelled out on his records. After all, everyone shouts out their crew, but not everyone has a crew that can grab the mic and wreck shop.

Little did anyone know that not only were they about to rip the airwaves, G-Unit was about to stake their claim on the industry and the world beyond.

The group from New York is comprised of 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks – all of whom grew up on the same block and hustled the streets together. Each were lyrical masters the streets and began working the mixtape circuit to garner attention. 50 Cent was signed first, and the success of his first solo project, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, led to Interscope Records giving him his own label – G-Unit Records. Finally, the group as a whole had a platform.

In November 2003, G-Unit released their debut album titled Beg For Mercy, which featured radio hits like “Stunt 101” and “Wanna Get to Know You” – the success of which acted as a springboard for Banks and t h e n - m e m b e r Young Buck to pursue solo careers. Though no member found the success that 50 did, Banks is considered by many a lyrical force to be reckoned with.

“He’s just a lyrical assassin,” Yayo says of his friend. According to Banks, the solo projects don’t get in the way of G-Unit – it actually makes them stronger.

“We all make records on our own, so when it comes down to putting records together, it’s kind of easy” he explains. “I might like a record that 50 has, and he likes one that Yayo has and I have, and that’s three records right there!”

With that much material to choose from, one would think it would be hard to narrow down five years’ worth of work down to 16 tracks, but Banks is quick to remind us that though they haven’t released a studio album, G-Unit did have mixtape releases Elephant in the Sand and Return of the Body Snatchers with DJ Whoo Kid. “Those are quality bodies of work – 16 tracks on each right there - that just kind of opened up the doors for [Terminate on Sight],” explains Banks.

Though tradition in hip-hop has artists speaking ill of one another on wax, but one would think that G-Unit’s reputation on the mixtape circuit would leave people less likely to come out against them. However, original G-Unit member Young Buck has spoken out with accusations against 50 and the group, and was later ousted from the group by 50. Banks and Yayo, for the most part, just ignores the instigations from Buck.

“I think I’m cut from a different cloth,” Banks suggests. “I had things to at growing up to see what’s a good feud and a bad feud, and some things you just have to let go of and not pay attention to.” Besides, Banks suggests with a laugh, “You don’t REALLY want to go at me anyway, do you?” And some of the people who do are likely just looking for attention from the media. “That’s how I feel about Buck,” Yayo pipes in. “He was with us, and then all of a sudden there’s a r e s i s t a n c e against G-Unit and he’s going with Fat Joe and Game. I feel like he’s getting the most media he’s ever got from this.” Yayo is quick to recognize the business and the gimmick, but at the heart of the Buck situation, it’s obvious that he can’t help but take it to heart. “Sometimes hip-hop confuses me,” Yayo confesses. “I just want to know where the loyalty is at, because I’ve seen 50 extend his hand to him, and 50 is the one who loaned him the most money.”

He pauses for a moment. “I guess there’s no business like show business,” he says with a sigh. And show business comes with its downsides. Yayo is experiencing that firsthand with the recent accusations that he slapped the son of rival The Game’s manager, Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond.

“The media I got was just crazy,” he says of the case. “And I felt bad, because I didn’t really do it. And the things they’re saying about me – I mean, I have kids! But when I decided to be in this business, I knew everyone would be having an opinion.”

The only opinion that matters to the members of G-Unit is how the fans react to their second album, Terminate on Sight. Yayo admits that though hiphop has become much softer and more mainstreamfriendly in past years, they intentionally stayed aggressive to stay true to themselves as individual artists and as a group.

“Right now people are snappin’ and poppin’ and having a good time,” he admits, “but I think it’s ready for a change and people want to hear something different. I mean, ringtone music is good, but I think sometimes people want to hear a full body of work.”

When asked about their favorite tracks on the album, both Yayo and Banks make quick mention of the tribute track “Straight Outta Southside” – an homage to Southside’s Sean Bell and addresses his controversial death at the hands of the police in New York. Banks describes the record as powerful, with a sound that is reminiscent of legendary west-coast rap group N.W.A.

“It’s a real aggressive record,” says Yayo. “We’re showing we’re mad as hell about what happened. I mean, a police offi cer can shoot at you twenty times, drop the clip, shoot at you another twenty times, and it’s nothing?”

While Yayo describes the album as a much more aggressive offering than what’s been out lately, Banks reassures fans that there are songs like the Swizz Beats track “I Get Down” that cater to the club demographic.

“I like records like ‘Close To Me,’ where Dangerous L.L.C. made the beat…” Banks explains. “He did ‘Just a Little Bit’ and ‘Window Shopper’ on the fi rst one,” Yayo jumps in, “so that’s a guaranteed hit.”

“It’s a record that I had that would have been for my solo project but 50 was liking that record too much,” Banks says with a chuckle.

In addition to working with well-known producers like Swizz Beats, Dangerous L.L.C., Palow Da Don, and Timbaland, G-Unit also worked with some underground producers.

“We’re not really looking for a name,” Yayo explains. “It’s all if you’re a star. I mean, the guy that did ‘I Get Money’ was brand new.”

For Yayo, who had a minimal presence on Beg for Mercy due to an incarceration on gun charges, Terminate on Sight is an opportunity for him to show and prove to a legion of doubters that he deserves his spot in the group and is more than just a glorifi ed hype man.

“A lot of people have doubts in me, but do they remember the fi rst mixtapes – when it was me, Banks, and 50?” he asks.

For Banks, he was just happy to have his friend back. “It was good just having him around period,” he recalls. “The music just comes out a lot better. It was like having a piece of the puzzle missing when he was gone.”

And though Banks admits that there is a lot of Terminate on Sight that feels like Beg for Mercy, but Yayo thinks the similarities are with the feeling they have about the work and not the work itself.

“We put in a lot of work, and there’s been a lot of resistance, but we’re hungry again. It feels like the fi rst album and we’re going hard,” Yayo says confi dently. “But I want people to realize that I feel like we’re the best rap group in the world.”

And any doubts of that are sure to be terminated as soon as the album drops.

See for yourself when you pick up G-Unit’s album, Terminate On Sight - available on July 1st.