David Darnell Brown, better known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records in 1997, formed the hip hop collective UTP with Juvenile and Soulja Slim in 2001, and joined 50 Cent's group, G-Unit by 2003. He signed with the latter's parent label, G-Unit Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album Straight Outta Cashville (2003) and its follow-up Buck the World (2007), both of which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and were met with critical praise.

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.