Exclusive: G Unit Q&A

by Toshitaka Kondo

Anyone who thought 50 Cent would wilt away after losing his September 2007 Soundscan battle with Kanye West has a short memory. Although the image seared into the public’s mind is that of an indestructible, sh*t-talking, multi-platinum icon, Curtis Jackson has no problem being counted out. Before the New York native became a legendary hip-hop brand, on the back of his first two albums (‘03’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and ‘05’s The Massacre), and before he created a business empire of clothing (G Unit), video games (Bulletproof and the new Blood in the Sand) and bottled water (Glacéau Vitamin Water, which reportedly netted him hundreds of millions of dollars when Coca-Cola purchased the company), he was a barely-known rapper. In fact, 50 was more famous for being shot nine times and for beefing with Ja Rule and the hugely successful Murder Inc. label, than for his music. So, to think that a lukewarm reception to his third album, Curtis, and being outsold by Kanye could deter him, is almost blasphemous.

Proving his mettle after the setback, 50’s re-grouped his G Unit crew, grabbing Tony Yayo (a.k.a. Marvin Bernard) and Lloyd Banks (a.k.a. Christopher Charles Lloyd) to create two excellent mixtapes, Return of the Body Snatchers and the Fat Joe diss, Elephant in the Sand, setting the streets on fire and whetting appetites for their June release, T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight). However, drama never strays too far. 50 has stayed in the headlines since dismissing Young Buck (a.k.a. David Brown) from G Unit at the beginning of April. When Rhapsody caught up with G Unit a couple of weeks later, Banks and Yayo chose to let 50 do most of the talking -- and that he did -- expounding on Young Buck, the state of the music business and Alicia Keys’ recent comments about “gangsta rap.”

Rhapsody: Seeing as how Young Buck will still be on the new G Unit album, it seems like the split was pretty amicable.
50 Cent: Yeah, he’s on the single. He’s on “I Like the Way She Do It” and “Rider Pt. 2.” It didn’t make sense for me to try and pull him off. I don’t have hatred towards him, because he’s like a younger brother to me. It’s just he made decisions that made me uncomfortable, and I had to make a decision before it got so bad that it turns into something else. It’s more productive if he’s moved away to focus on himself, because that’s his focus. And it’s been obvious from the things he’s been saying. I’m sure that [there will be] a point [of] some discomfort for him, because he’s gonna feel what it’s like to not have the G Unit support.

What was the final straw that made you kick Buck out?
50 Cent: The royalty thing was a part of it. We had a conversation and we kind of cleared up some of the things he was saying. And he expressed that he felt like he was confused, and went and said some things he didn’t actually have to say. But following that, more sh*t started to come out. And it’s not just what the public heard. It’s more his mentality and the conversations he’s been having with people in his inner circle. They finally said, “Yo Fif. It’s different. He’s feeling like this and he’s saying this.” We got the information because our circles intertwine. While we was actually working on the four songs that he did, he left the recording process to go be in a little video they were shooting for one of Jeezy’s artists. It didn’t even make sense. At the same time he went and did that, that’s when he missed his opportunity to be a part of [Blood in the Sand]. The same day that he left was the day he was supposed to shoot photos for them to create the images of him for the video game. He just was in a hurry to get there. Our first video game was a big success. It sold over two million copies. He’s not thinking from a financial perspective. He’s thinking based off what he wants. It’ a good thing. Him and Jeezy are good friends. So his interests are somewhere else and it’s cool. Just go focus on that.

Was there any truth to the rumor about you paying off an IRS debt for him?
50 Cent: It wasn’t actually $500,000. It was up to $330,000. But it wasn’t one shot. It was over time. That’s why it’s a bigger disrespect for [Buck] to say on a financial front that [he] didn’t receive [his] due when [Banks, Yayo and Buck] all made over $8 million. You don’t hear anybody kicking and screaming when the checks are comfortably rolling in.

When you said Buck was out of G Unit on Hot 97, was that the first time he knew he was out?
50 Cent: He already knew. But that was the first time he heard it publicly, if he heard it.

But you didn’t have a conversation before the Hot 97 to inform him he was out?
50 Cent: Nah.

Have you guys spoken to him since the Hot 97 interview?
Banks, Yayo and 50 Cent: No.

50 Cent: You know what it is? If you indicate to me that you want something different for yourself, it’s like, “Fine have it.” I’m not in the business of holding people against their will to do different things. F*ck it, get out of here. If that energy is there, move forward and I wish you the best. It’s like a relationship. You can damn near feel like you in love with someone, or you marry them, and then you realize this b*tch is absolutely crazy, I gotta get rid of her.

Have you had to pay off debts for other G Unit members?
50 Cent: Well, not IRS debts. Like Prodigy bought a better place for himself. In the process, he didn’t realize he would have to give a certain percent [down]. After he signed the contract, you gotta have another $175,000 in two days. And it doesn’t dawn on him until it’s actually time. I don’t wanna see him lose the $80,000, so I loan him the $175,000. But he’s a part of a group that existed 10 years before I came on. So he can go make $175,000 overseas in a week. And he did it. He’s one of the people that you don’t have to remind. Prodigy is the kind of n*gg* that will remind you like, “Yo, this is for this.” I got a different respect for him and we got a relationship that’s different based on that. There was a point where Olivia asked for a similar type of situation and I couldn’t give her $175,000 ‘cause she’s not Prodigy.

Did you have to bug Buck to get the money back?
50 Cent: There’s still some money owed. He didn’t adjust his lifestyle. He didn’t not do anything he would regularly do in order to make a sacrifice to give that back.

Like coppin' the Bentley after you gave him the money?
50 Cent: When you made $8 million dollars, you’re earning on a level where the Bentley GT doesn’t put a big enough dent in your finances. It could be considered disrespectful because people look at it like, “Buck, you bought a f*ck*ng Bentley after he loaned you the money?” Someone on the street level is gonna look at it like, “Yo, I would’ve f*ck*ng hurt that n*gg*.” It’s more like he didn’t take care of it when it would’ve been convenient until it actually started to get difficult, because now his touring ain’t in the same space it was in.

All major labels now require new artists to sign 360 deals entitling them to a percentage of revenue streams from touring, merchandise and others things. What do you think of the 360 deal?
50 Cent: I think it’s cool. I think they gotta invent an infrastructure that allows them to capitalize on it because it’s turning the music into an advertising business.

A lot of established artists have opposed 360 deals.
50 Cent: Now. We made a deal before the structure [of 360 deals] changed. Jay-Z’s Live Nation deal is a 360 deal. It makes sense when that kind of revenue is involved.

A lot of analysts were saying Live Nation can’t make the money back.
50 Cent: They will. Are you kidding me? Off of the touring and the other commitments that he made within the deal. They’ll look at it from across the street, they’ll think there’s a competition [hip-hop-wise] that makes me and Jay-Z competitors. But the business portion makes us take notes from each other. So there is a competition without it being a beef. He’ll tell you that flat out. They’ll say Jay’s lyrical and [“I Know”] is a song I wrote three years ago with “Baltimore Love Thing.” It has a similar concept and I enjoy his. What’s ill is “Baltimore Love Thing” was my favorite record, but I never shot the single because I didn’t believe they would get it. What Jay did was put it out commercially. That was another move that I looked at and said, “That was some cool sh*t,” ‘cause I don’t think he really cared whether it increased his record sales.

What did you all think of the Ghostface video where he’s getting mad at the fans for not buying his album?
50 Cent: I understand where he’s coming from, but that was some funny sh*t. When I seen that sh*t, I was like, "Yo, that n*gg* Ghost is tight!" Know that they can have a passion for you, and not buy your f*ck*ng record. Those people are still his fans. That’s still gonna be the guy who has his hand up at the show. I would guess that a quarter of the people that were his friends purchased the actual CD. The rest were older fans that are still conditioned to buy music.

Did you read the new XXL where Game talked about having suicidal thoughts?
Lloyd Banks: Do like Nike, man, just do it.

Tony Yayo: Shoot yourself. Isn’t it dramatic when a guy gets a butterfly and then he covers it with an L.A. sign and then he covers it with a red five star?

Lloyd Banks: He puts a lot of thought into his tattoos, after he gets them.

50 Cent: I don’t got beef with him. I think something is really not right with him mentally.

Lloyd Banks: It’s the second time he thought about killing himself in two years. He’s obviously in a difficult space.

50 Cent: All of the interest in Game was really interest in 50 Cent. When he put out a record [“Big Dreams”] and it didn’t react, right after that he tried to put out a [50 Cent] diss record. He’s really just hitting a brick wall right now. The “You Got Beef With 50 Cent” thing is already exhausted. You need to move to something else. If you reach an 80 percent mark of your album and you don’t have the confusion of not knowing which single to pick, your album is b*llsh*t.

What did you think of Alicia Keys’ comments regarding gangsta rap in Blender?
50 cent: I don’t like Alicia Keys no more.

She clarified the comments, though.
50 cent: If she thinks what they consider [to be] gangsta music is [made] to bring black people down then I think my sh*t falls into that category. I don’t like people who don’t like me. I don’t like her then because that’s what provides the life for me. I think if you ask Ice Cube the same shit, he’ll tell you, “F*ck Alicia Keys” for even saying that. Because the success he’s had as an actor and a businessman, there was no opportunity for that sh*t without N.W.A. But I don’t think that [her] classical sh*t is cool. I don’t give a f*ck if you can classically play the piano. I haven’t been classically trained, because my upbringing, nobody put me in front of a piano at that time. If they did, I would know how to do it as well as she does. I could learn how to play the piano if I was passionate about it right now. That’s obviously my perspective evaluating what she does, and I could f*ck*ng care less about the sh*t. So she don’t like the music that embodies the harsh realities because they’re not her realities. She hasn’t been subjected to the same things.

Was there any truth to Fat Joe’s YouTube clip stating you lost $22.6 million lost on Curtis and that he made $50,674 on the first week sales for The Elephant in the Room?
50 Cent: No. That’s not accurate. Joe be frontin. First of all, there ain’t nobody making $7 a CD unless maybe they pressing up the CD themselves for a dollar and selling it for $8 out they car. [For “I Won’t Tell”] you got J. Holiday, female talent, Gil Green who actually shot the music video. $200,000. Then you got the Plies video. Let’s say that’s another $200,000. I don’t even know why he did it. That sh*t is wack. The whole sh*t is wack. $200,000 for the promo tour. That’s $600,000 already. Print advertisement and the viral campaign, and we at another $300,000. Then you had to get the production and mix the record. That’s putting you at let’s say $1.2 million. That’s actually low. If it was $7 a CD and 100,000 [albums sold] would mean you made $700,000. Which would only put you $500,000 in the hole. And he’s at 79,000. He’s gonna be off the Soundscan next week. You is a “$20,000 a Show” n*gg*. When they see Banks and Yayo with me on stage, they making more money than Fat Joe on his own tour when they don’t have a record out. So that’s the support that Buck decided he didn’t want.

Comments

[Squeezrim]

G-unit is down folks, no Bulk no South sh*t in thier skills... This N*gg* 50 is fucking around too much on ma N*gg*s... 50 Cent, Nas, Fat joe, Jadakiss and his Lords. Yop! your Lords 50 You aight gat money like Jayz or what you saying Yap!. I love you from start of the HowtoRub shit. but now you worth nothing but ma fit N*gg* Bro. you gat to show love and bring fort N*gg*s some respect in the Hood. my n*gg* in your crew now is Yayo he is mature and mate for me to be. I love you Yayo!. i am one of your fans right from when you traped in the prison. and i will ever be. let not Fake *ss 50 ruin your Rep. all cos of money man. you worth more than Gold. as for you Lloyd Banks. You are still a Kid.. so you stay out when grown N*gg* beef. ok? When next i holla! i gotta pump some gunz. Mobb deep has disgrace me bro. no wonder the infamous Mobb dis their has off the Queens Bridge. they should lay low this time, Prodigy should remember his health been a sickler. f*ck those n*gg*s. both Havoc and Prodigy are fake *sses.

Squezrim.

[Tim]

50 Cent is a hustler, and a businessman. He's making so much money, on all of his business dealings. I admire his business aptitude, and his star power, and how he utilizes that power. That is something else! He's an incredible individual!

[Ced]

50 is da truth and he doing his thang big ups homie

[medi]

hi
i like rap music & especially persian rap.bcoz i live in iran & i have a lot of freinds who are raps singer & famous in my country.
so, i like 50 cent musics.
now i say hi to 50 cent from here & i hope u get lucky every day & times.
rap is map of our life.
this is my beilive.
bye
medi

[carrie edwards]

hi 50 you make any new videos yet. because i really like you music.this person is writting from the country of Antigua & Barbuda.

[John K. Zogar, Jr.]

I appreciate the colliberative efforts made by the G - Unit Crew in i suring that better Rap (Videos and Audios) hit the street to get us bussy.

[Steve]

Why dont 50 give some love to real reagge artist like Tarrus Riley and do at least one song that bigs up black people on a whole either way I respect anyonee who makes money in this world without killing others G-unit 4 life. Let Buck live if ya brothers it'll work itself out dont let other people destroy the one thing mor important than money--- Relationships.

[The Pinchhitter]

I love Alicia Keys. She's a proper musician who actually "makes" music, unlike pretentious entertainers like 50 Cent.
Oh yeah, she speaks and writes English well, too!

[Oni-Edigin (from Brighton uk]

Its not about reading and writing. if you dont understand individuality or values others people personal personality, it doesn't give you the right to damage 50cent music or life style
i would say Alicia kay is an independent old Lady that doesn't know the important of a man and that makes her talk sh*t on 50cent tho

[dj]

i love you 50 cent

[zain khan]

I am so glad to about urs.because i mad about ur music,50 cent i am loving ur songs,which create some distinction on others ,you are rocking guys,

[freazoid]

fiddy is one a da greatest, alicia shud jus shut da F*CK up, i mean come on, she worse dan fiddy and he got more money and creates mo quality music dan Alicia.

[hwegthbgfehksdf]

i luv ya 50 cent! your great guy :)

[stanley mhapa]

50 cents u r rockin' man,awaiting your live perfomance in DAr-es-salaam,Tanzania,FROM HOW TO ROB TO MASSACRE,FLYYYYYYYY

[Yemmie]

I definitely think 50 cent is a talented rapper and a shrewd bussinessman but what i have noticed is that there is a trend of some "beef" always popping up preclude to an album release. Coincidence, i think not. I give it to the G-Unit though, it has always paid off to boost sales. Alicia Keys was only exercising her constitutionally guaranteed right of expressing an opinion and i dont believe she should be persecuted for it.

[PUddy]

well all i knw is..money is all these peoplez think abt.i like Yng BUck wen he was with G0unit and even tho his out its all gud.
and alicia keys should think before sayin some like dat,its a broad talk so say some about Rap music...she should do more promoting it in her own classic trakx..
puddy (tanzania)

[kell]

hey whats good 50 hey why dont you sign craig david and have him singin for the chicks for g unit. he tight were he from. i mean he would do a lot better than robin thick. and you might want to go to arcadia fl and get some reals outta their for real. but hey whats good wit eminem i hered he sick. holla back (E.I.)

[skylar]

I DON'T LIKE RAP MUSIC.... BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PERSONAL AGAINST ANYONE THAT DO RAP MUSIC. BUT DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. IT IS GOOD THEY CAN AIR THEIR HARD TIMES AND THEIR UP BRINGING IN MUSIC FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR IT, BUT I PERSONALLY DON'T CARE FOR THE CURSING TALKING ABOUT WOMEN IN A NON-RESPECTABLE WAY. I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR U ARE RAPPERS SHOULD HAVE RESPECT FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES THEN THEY DO WHEN THEY ARE DEGRADING PEOPLE. AS LONG AS THEY RAP ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPEN OR HAPPENING TO THEM THEN I CAN DEAL WITH IT. BUT WHEN U GO PUTTING WOMEN AND KIDS DOWN THATS NOR COOL AT ALL. BUT I GUESS DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS.

[blounte]

u all r suckers to even beef on 50 ,cos i think also he is a shrewd thinker n a quality businessman,all yo playahaters jump off the fence n be suicidal as 4 me n ma dauwgs 50 n g-unit crew rocks

[adelaida]

i love you ,you are my best star i have

[hamoood 2008]

hi
how r y
nice to know you

iam from jordan
i like your songs

[kB]

50 you're ascending and non wil stop you,if buck's interfering with your business then get him the f*ck out.Big up big homie and i must admitt you sure shoot big quality videos man keep up the quality work..cheerz

[sombwam]

I just olve 50 and all the rest of the G-Unit crew.Been a fan form the very beginning..and am gonna stay the same.Alicia keys just doesn't understand what it is to grow up in the hood..nah!I guess it's high time she got herself a real man.Go get married Alicia b4 u get to old.Come to Africa n u understand what am talkin about.50 n G Unit rock this side of the world..oh n 50..can u come to Zambia for a show-Equipo Buche

[sombwam]

Yo,50..when r u gona come to Zambia and have show..everyone looking forward yo th time when u gonna give us something that we always watch on DVDs..need to c u live in concern.Guess am ur no 1 fan here in zambia.Keep doing ur thing,man.We loveu..Africa does.

[Marisha]

I have a lotta luv and respect for 50. Creative and head strong. What ms keys said - silly . Thats gonna make alot peeps in the industry look different at her, especialy with rap being a big part of that.

[henry]

hey u kn wat F*CK 50 he is no real n*gg* says lots of sh*t and have lots of disrespect 4 other real n*gg*s. he thinks he have it all but guess wat 50, if u haven't gat no respect u haven't gat nothin men. U AR SUCH AN *SS men grow up n all u fans that likes 50 wake up n look 4 real n*gg*s not dat shit n his f*ckin crew.

[kc]

Hey 50 nuff love 4 u mane. I like wat i c and how u r doing ur ting. i enjoy u music and yes some of the i can relay too, but i guess it's all bout the money and whatever sells rite. but i will like to c u hold it down on some of the beef, each is entitled to thier own opinion, and not becaused i don't agree with every thing u said in ur intervier i gonna dis u. Naw! Nuff love from Belize

[g-uNOT]

DAmn *SSH*L*s
DIE M*TH*RF * C K * R S

Westcoast 4 life
GGGG-Unot !!!

The Game 4 eva !!!

[jlove]

soon this rich *ss n*gg*s gon be purchasin spaceships n goin off to the f*ck*ng moon n rappin bout a marshall spacelaser liquidator gun fight its al enterprenurshit 50 be on his third tech (blood in the sand) n he still aint got GAME wsup wit that aint got a problem wit what u do its RighT before u dit it get it G-Unit just rebels on a liberty day march. Ghostface goddi always been a real n*gg* a stray bullet u make a hit anytime relentless