Marvin Bernard, better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He was best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debut studio album, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, on August 30, 2005, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. After eighteen years of not releasing a sophomore follow-up, due to his association with G-Unit and later disbandment of the group in 2022, Yayo returned with The Loyal Mixtape, which released on February 10, 2023.
Tony Yayo performing at Villanova Hoops Mania in 2005
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