‘In Da Club’ rapper 50 Cent has had an extremely tumultuous relationship with the members of his former crew G-unit. However, his friendship with former counterpart Tony Yayo has undoubtedly been the most bitter recently. Born in the South Jamaica neighbourhood of Queens, New York, the emcee (real name Curtis Jackson) saw a lot of violence growing up and, on more than one occasion, has been on the end of attempted murder. However, while they were still on good terms, Jackson prevented Yayo from visiting him in the hospital.
In 2000, 50 Cent was shot nine times outside his grandmother’s house by what he has previously described as a “low-level” drug dealer. Bullets entered his body via his hand, arm, hip, legs, chest, and face, resulting in a permanently partially visible hole in his cheek. Following the near-fatal incident, Jackson was hospitalised. As a result, the ‘Candy Shop’ lyricist also had to undergo surgery to remove bullet fragments in his jaw.
Over two decades later, in an appearance on the Hotboxin With Mike Tyson podcast, Tony Yayo (real name Marvin Bernard) recalled the aftermath of Jackson’s shooting and how it raised hairs among the members of G-unit. The rapper recounted how his crew mates warned him he might be the next victim, explaining, “They was like, ‘You next, Yayo, they gon’ kill you!’ and I was like, ‘Damn, I’mma die? N*ggas gonna kill me out here!'”
Following this, the rapper proceeded to detail how, when he attempted to visit Jackson in the hospital, the mogul wouldn’t allow him to enter the ward. Following his denied entry, Bernard said he vehemently questioned Jackson, asking,” ‘Yo, why you didn’t want me to see you?'” But 50 (with Yayo’s best interest in mind) told him,”‘Because it [would have] fucked with your mental [health]. It would have made you scared seein’ me fucked up like that.'”
Although Yayo and Jackson aren’t as close as they once were, he seemed to appreciate the emcee’s good intentions. and the feeling is mutual as only last year, during an appearance on The Breakfast Club, when asked if he would ever do a project with his former crew he replied, “I probably won’t do a project with them. I’m tired of carrying them around. My back hurts,” but expressed his affinity for Yayo, stating, “Yayo, he’s a different animal. If he does something wrong, no matter what the magnitude of it, he says, ‘My bad.’ Banks and these other guys came in by way of him, and they have a different temperament.” You can watch Bernard’s recent appearance on Hot Boxin WIth Mike Tyson in the video below.
