G-Unit was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released their debut album Beg for Mercy in 2003, which went on to ship over four million copies in the US and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The original G-Unit lineup; (left to right) Tony Yayo, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks during a music video shoot.
Olivia, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and 50 Cent in Bangkok, February 2006
An anti-50 Cent billboard in Tribeca, New York
G-Unit on the set of the "Rider Pt. 2" video, a diss track aimed at Fat Joe
Curtis James Jackson III, known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, television producer, and businessman. Born in South Jamaica, a neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999-2000, he recorded his "debut" album Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, however he was struck by nine bullets during a shooting in May 2000, causing its release to be cancelled and Jackson to be dropped from the label. His 2002 mixtape, Guess Who's Back? was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records, an imprint of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records that same year.
50 Cent in 2006
Olivia, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and 50 Cent (left to right) in Bangkok, February 2006
50 Cent performing in 2011
50 Cent in 2017