First G-Unit Break Up, Now Everyday I Wake Up…. Posted by Nathan S. on 07/14/12 | Filed under Features, Opinion, 50 Cent, G-Unit

G-Unit may not technically be broken up, but they're not broken up in the same way that Oukast's not broken up. It'd be more accurate to say that G-Unit is broken, and 50 Cent doesn't particularly give a fuck about fixing it.

Make no mistake, while the death knoll of the G-Unit era may not feel like a big deal to anyone younger than 20, for those of us old enough to drive when "Beg For Mercy" dropped the of Fiddy's label is yet another dead connection to our youth (along with the death of the Reebok Pump and the cancellation of "Saved By the Bell"). In their 2003 heyday, G-Unit sold 4 million copies (4 million!) of their debut album, signed a sneaker deal with Reebok that netted 50 Cent over $80 million and served as a constant cultural reference.

But in retrospect, 50 expanded G-Unit too quickly. Newer artists like Game and Young Buck clashed with the original founders, and throwing in Mobb Deep, MOP, 40 Glocc, Olivia, Spider Loc and too many more to name into the mix only made matters more complicated.



Join that dysfunction with 50's own waning power as a solo star and you get July of 2012, a day and age that finds all of the G-Unit heyday signings gone, Pauly D now rocking a G-Unit chain, and 50 barely speaking to Lloyd Banks or Tony Yayo.



In other words, Banks and Yayo got fat and lazy eating off 50, so now that he doesn't care enough to carry them anymore, it's over. I mean, holy shit, 50's been managing them for the last decade? That's insane. What I love most about that interview is that it's evident that Tony Yayo is perfectly happy being the reigning Weed Carrier of the Year. That man has zero interest in his own career, and I don't blame him. Would you really work that hard for $10 million when you could do fucking nothing and pull in $2 million?

So if the continuation of G-Unit depends on Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo suddenly deciding that they're going to hustle as hard as 50 Cent. Anyone want to bet that will actually happen? I didn't think so. Oh well, I guess all good things must come to an end...including all the things that are good in the beginning and then slowly but surely turn into a poo sandwich.

Oh well, at least we'll always have "Poppin Them Thangs". Ah, memories. *single tear rolls down cheek*



p.s. - For those who want more, Miss Info's got a pretty complete breakdown of the rise and fall of G-Unit.

See Also: Are You Ready to Kind Of Care About 50 Cent’s “Murder By Numbers” Mixtape? (Listen & Download)