The Rapper 50 Cent Wishes Blew Up Instead of Him
Rapper 50 Cent has been releasing music for over two decades. The New York-bred emcee was introduced to many people as a part of the hip-hop group G-Unit alongside Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. 50 went on to become a successful solo artist with hit songs such as “In Da Club” and “Candy Shop.” But when 50 looks back at his career, he wishes he could’ve shared the success with his peers.
50 Cent was in G-Unit with Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks
50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks knew each other from growing up in the same neighborhood in Queens, New York, and as teenagers, the three started rapping together. They eventually formed their own group, G-Unit.
In the early 2000s, 50 Cent created G-Unit Records, which backed the group’s releases as well as 50’s own albums. In February 2003, 50 Cent released his debut studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. G-Unit’s debut studio album, Beg For Mercy, was released later that year.
50 Cent wishes Tony Yayo blew up instead of him
50 Cent shot to the top of the charts with the release of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, as lead single “In Da Club” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album ended up becoming the best-selling album of 2003.
While 50 found mainstream success as a solo artist relatively quickly, it meant that G-Unit was considered by many to be an afterthought. In a January 2023 interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood podcast, 50 reflected on the time and how he used his name recognition to promote his fellow G-Unit members.
“My solo album took off so big that I just brought them with me,” 50 said. “So it was clear that it was me creating opportunity for everybody else in the crew, but we was all together. I wish it would have been Yayo, because then I coulda did all of the business. If he woulda did what 50 Cent did, then I would have been running the whole thing.”
“It would still be two of us,” he added. “He’d still be 50 Cent as the artist and I’d be the largest asset to us.”
Two decades later, 50 Cent was a special guest at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show, performing “In Da Club” for millions worldwide.
Tony Yayo is grateful for 50 Cent
Tony Yayo only released one solo studio album, 2005’s Thoughts of a Predicate Felon. In the years since then, he’s released many mixtapes, both as a solo artist and with G-Unit.
In an August 2022 interview on the Only Way Out podcast, Yayo looked back on how 50 Cent helped him and others ensure that they stayed out of trouble.
“There used to be 14 guns on the bus like Bobby Shmurda and them n****s, we used to be running around like that,” Yayo said. “You gotta kinda be smart, you have a n**** like Fif around that help us survive a lot of s***. ‘Cause he’ll be like, ‘Yo, if you gotta bring a gun, why the f*** you going? Just go party in my mansion; I’m not even there. Just take over my mansion.”
