“We movin’, my n—a. G-Unit, n—a. That’s what it’s been!” – G-Unit’s Young Buck
Hot 97’s Summer Jam 2014 was expected to be a legendary show, and why not? With a lineup consisting of Nicki Minaj featuring Young Money & Lil Wayne, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Trey Songz, DJ Mustard featuring YG & Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Ink, Sevyn Streeter, Bunji Garlin, Action Bronson, and Troy Ave, not to mention the concert taking place at New Jersey’s beautiful Metlife Stadium, expectations were high for the summer’s hottest show.
Many stole the show, and all in all, it was a fantastic first night of June. But, it’s likely that no one predicted the big surprise that took place during 50 Cent’s set.
That noise you hear even three and a half months later is jaws dropping at the return of G-Unit; almost four months prior, the Gorilla Unit had broken up and left Interscope. Shots were fired by each member at one another, and it seemed as if one of hip hop’s most infamous crews would never reunite. Summer Jam 2014? It felt more like a 2004 concert.
“From the very beginning, 50′s always been the big brother. You know, s–t happens and that’s what happened,” Young Buck revealed a month after the reunion. “But real s–t always makes yourself stronger…in some kind of way. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and sometimes it do, but if it’s real, it’s always gonna be there and that’s what it was…We movin’, my n—a. G-Unit, n—a. That’s what it’s been.”
I think people forget that for a while, G-Unit was hip hop’s supergroup. Yes, there were groups like D12, 213, and the Four Horsemen, but it was G-Unit that truly represented what a supergroup was supposed to look like. They had not only the talent, but the swagger, the cockiness; there was an ambition to truly be the best.
Like I said in February, once 50 Cent‘s classic Get Rich Or Die Tryin dropped in February of 2003, who was on MTV and BET seemingly every day? 50 Cent and G-Unit. Who performed at concerts all around the world to millions of fans? G-Unit. For a good three, four years, G-Unit ran the hip hop scene and their return is one I don’t think many people saw coming.
The only former member of G-Unit not invited to the reunion, The Game, recently spoke about his former group getting back together:
“I saw the picture and instantly thought that that was cool of [50 Cent]…with all the money he got, he don’t need music no more. He’s giving Banks, Yayo, and definitely Buck, because that’s my partner, a chance to get back out there and do shows and make more money. G-Unit the name will pack a building and they get to split that up and I think that’s cool. That was my first and only thought about it.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Game ends up doing a song with the Unit again; 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo happily welcomed Young Buck back after beef, and almost ten years after the beef between Game and G-Unit began, you’d have to think that at some point, it could be brushed aside. After all, Game seems cool with the idea that Buck, a close friend of his, is back with 50 and friends.
Interestingly enough, some have wondered if 50 Cent’s protege, Kidd Kidd, has taken Game’s spot; he’s done a lot of work with the group so far and was featured on the cover of their recent EP, but I don’t know if I’d quite call him Game’s replacement. Rather, I think of it as 50 doing to Kidd Kidd what he did to Banks and Yayo over a decade ago – he’s remained loyal to his ‘boys’ and is putting him on a path to succeed.
Speaking of that EP, that’s what’s stood out so much about G-Unit’s reunion. Instead of the comeback being mainly for publicity, (remember, 50 Cent’s Animal Ambition album dropped only two days after Summer Jam), the group has put out plenty of new music over these past couple months and a new album to boot.
Well, maybe album is the wrong term. Out of nowhere, the Unit released The Beauty Of Independence in August; the project was only six tracks, but they were six stand out tracks. One of them, “Changes”, deals with the reunion and the ‘changes’ of late. On it, 50 raps “All I’m hearing is Jimmy want my shit to flop, Dre don’t care if I blow/God damn, all this from fucking selling headphones,” while Tony Yayo, not often known for powerful lyricism, admits “The limelight is hot, I ain’t ask to be here/The money and the power make problems disappear/People change like the weather/I weather the storm until it’s better.”
“With a simple but winning formula of aggressive rhymes and production to match, ‘The Beauty Of Independence’ revisits G-Unit’s peak with an eye on the future,” HipHopDX said after giving G-Unit’s The Beauty Of Independence 4/5 stars, while XXL said, “Motivated by the will to be the industry’s top competitors again, The Beauty Of Independence shows that G-Unit is back in the house. For good.”
Hip hop is a sport of competition, and G-Unit’s reunion will hopefully mean others step their game up. It’s hard to look at 2014 in hip hop and walk away impressed or content, but it appears that 50 Cent’s animal ambition has spread to the other members of G-Unit. It’s been over six years since they last released a studio album, and they want to prove to people they’re not done.
While all we can do as hip hop fans is hope for a G-Unit and Game collaboration one day, it’s important to at the same time appreciate what we have now. The return of G-Unit, at the end of the day, is good for hip hop and music as a whole. After what seemed to be a disappointing first nine or so months of 2014, we can now excitedly wait for G-Unit to take over the last few months of this year as they did ten years ago.
What do you think of the G-Unit reunion? Can the Unit be as good as they once were? Leave a comment or tweet us at @BeAMusicPro.
Bump Magazine 