50 Cent is one of the wealthiest men hip hop, and similar to his musical peers Diddy and Dre, the former G-unit rapper has achieved a lot of success outside of the genre and is enjoying a fruitful career as a producer, filmmaker, and actor, making him a rapper turned media mogul.
However, before his transition into the world of movies, 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) was the kingpin of his crew G-unit, which was atop the hip hop charts during the early 2000s. With hit after hit, the crew seemed unstoppable until Jackson decided to pursue his solo career, leaving the remaining members of the G-unit to their own devices.
One of his fellow crew members was Lloyd Banks, and for Banks’ 2004 debut album, The Hunger For More, 50 and Young Buck passed through the studio as Banks worked on his song ‘I Get High’, which also features Long Beach legend, Snoop Dogg.
Snoop Dogg, at this time, was extremely hot following his single ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ featuring Pharrell Williams, and there’s no doubt that Banks was most likely hoping that a bit of Snoop magic on his album would help his song achieve similar success.
Banks, as a member of G-Unit in 2004, worked extremely closely with 50 Cent, and the lead single for The Hunger For More featured the Queens rapper and, as such, was extremely popular, managing to reach number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, getting certified gold. However, Banks still wasn’t managing to reach the levels of his crew member Jackson.
In 2022, Banks is effectively irrelevant with a very inconsistent cash flow, and according to 50 Cent, Banks blames him for that. In the interview with Houston’s 97.9 ‘The Box’, Jackson expressed that regardless of how much he may want to, he “can’t make people buy records”.
Expressing his frustrations, Jackson explained: “What’s ill is, when you’re in the seat, the driver’s seat, a lot of times, every time something goes wrong, it’s your fault”. 50 Cent further explained that as the founder of G-unit Records, he “happened to become the record label, so all of those artists that were around and didn’t do exactly what they were supposed to do, it’s my fault they didn’t. They give it to me individually now, like it’s not the company, it’s him.”
But in spite of any beef the two may have today, it is undeniable that they did make quality music during G-unit’s heyday, and that’s what should be remembered. Below you can watch some rare studio footage of when 50 Cent and Young Buck swung by Banks in the studio for ‘I Get High’. You can also listen below.
