A History of 50 Cent Beefing With G-Unit Members

50 Cent has been beefing with current and former members of G-Unit for decades. Here's a brief history.

50 cent getty 2016 prince williams
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Image via Getty/Prince Williams

50 cent getty 2016 prince williams

Since the turn of the century, 50 Cent has reigned as rap’s supervillain. 50 has mastered the art of the diss track ("How to Rob," "Back Down," "Piggy Bank") while amassing a list of enemies that includes everyone from superstar rappers (Nas, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Kanye West, Rick Ross) and label heads (Diddy, Jimmy Iovine) to media moguls (Oprah, Wendy Williams) and drug kingpins (Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemand, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff).

Even 50’s affiliates have fallen victim to his wrath, as the G-Unit general has spent the past two decades beefing with former crew members Game, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck. The crew’s latest internal conflict has played out over the past several weeks, as tension between 50 and Buck has escalated into a full-scale feud that’s centered on sex scandals, music video removals, and monetary disputes.

As 50 Cent and Young Buck continue to trade barbs on social media, let’s take a look at the history of 50 beefing with current and former G-Unit members.

2004: Tensions rise between 50 Cent and Game

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February 2005: 50 Cent kicks Game out of G-Unit live on Hot 97, shots fired outside station

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Although the seeds for Game’s public banishing from G-Unit were planted months earlier, the moment that ultimately set 50 off took place just days before, when Game told Hot 97 that he was going to do a song with Fif’s rival Nas and explained that he had no intention of getting involved in his beefs with Jadakiss and Fat Joe, among others.

A few days later, on February 28, 2005, 50 showed up to Hot 97, ready to start a war. Accompanied by Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and Olivia, 50 kicked Game out of G-Unit live on air, telling Funkmaster Flex that he felt Game was disloyal. Ever the king of pettiness, Fif didn’t hesitate to claim that Interscope was intent on dropping Game until 50 lent his hand to various cuts on The Documentary, even adding that he was making more money off The Documentary than Game was, and that he wrote more choruses than he was credited for.

Seeking retaliation for 50’s comments, Game and his crew arrived at Hot 97 while G-Unit was still on the air. After they were not allowed into the building, Game’s associates got into a shootout outside the radio station, which left one man, Kevin Reed of Compton, CA, injured. Back inside, Flex’s show was audibly interrupted, and his interview with 50 ended abruptly.

June 2005: Game starts G-Unot campaign, drops diss track “300 Bars N Runnin”

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February 2006: 50 Cent responds with “Not Rich, Still Lyin’”

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After dissing Game in the music video for “Piggy Bank” (which depicts the rapper as Mr. Potato Head, wearing a “wanksta” headband) 50 Cent finally responded on record with “Not Rich, Still Lyin.” The title alone is arguably as good of a diss as the actual track, serving as both a comedic response to Game’s G-Unit aimed mixtape/DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin, as well as a parody of his own debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin.

July 2006: 50 Cent mocks Game on mixtape cover

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April 2008: 50 Cent drops Young Buck from G-Unit live on Hot 97

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June 2008: 50 Cent leaks phone call with Young Buck, who responds with diss track “Taped Conversation”

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After publicly dropping Young Buck from G-Unit live on the air, 50 doubled down by releasing a taped phone conversation of a painful discussion between the two, which found Buck begging forgiveness for his wrongdoings while breaking down in tears. "I understand I done got off track," Buck said. "I don't know what to do... A n***a just want that same family feel like it's always been. I know I'm outta line, I don't want you to dismember me from the crew, honestly...I'm just trying to make you happy."

One day after it hit the internet, Young Buck retaliated with "Taped Conversation," taking aim at G-Unit’s general, rapping: "Look at 50, what he do just to get fame/Record my phone call when I spoke from the heart/That was a year ago, this was a joke from the start/You a ho, I know/The only people that record conversations is 5-0."

November 2009: 50 Cent disses Game and Young Buck on “So Disrespectful”

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Despite several apology attempts from Game, 50 proved he was still holding a grudge toward the former G-Unit member in late 2009, when a Game-aimed diss track showed up on his fourth studio album, Before I Self Destruct. Produced by Tha Bizness, "So Disrespectful" featured some choice words directed at a handful of 50’s foes (including Young Buck and his ex-girlfriend) but it saved most of its venom for Game. 50 ended the first verse by rapping: "Come on, Game, you'll never be my equal/ Your homies shoot dogs, my homies shoot people/See, me, I'm what you never gonna be/ I'm in that tax bracket you're never gonna see."

September 2010: 50 Cent calls out Lloyd Banks over Eminem feature

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Not even 50’s protege, Lloyd Banks, has been immune to his wrath. Once thick as thieves, the relationship between 50 and Banks hit a snag at the top of the decade, as the former tweeted his disappointment with Banks not wanting Eminem to appear on his third studio album, H.F.M. 2. Over a series of tweets, 50 took credit for Banks’ career and expressed his disappointment as a leader of G-Unit, before threatening to release a recording of 50 and Eminem confronting Banks backstage.

July 2012: 50 Cent says Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo need to get themselves together

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April 2014: 50 Cent likens Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks to spoiled milk, says they’re Troy Ave’s ‘hype men’

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June 2014: 50 Cent reunites with G-Unit at Summer Jam

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By 2014, G-Unit was removed from its apex, both musically and in terms of group relations. In fact, the crew was arguably the most unstable it’d ever been, as 50 had spent the spring tossing verbal grenades at Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. But that summer, nearly six years after 50’s relationship with Young Buck hit rock bottom, Fif shocked the rap game by performing at Summer Jam for the first time in ten years and then bringing Banks, Buck, and Yayo on stage with him to perform a medley of G-Unit’s biggest hits. It was the first time the crew had performed together since 2008. But, like always, the reunion was short-lived.

February 2016: 50 Cent calls out Lloyd Banks for taking photo with Game

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On the list of Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Avoid a Beef With 50 Cent, cozying up with any one of 50’s sworn enemies tops the list, as evidenced by 50’s feuds with Game and Young Buck (both of which started because 50 felt that each rapper was disloyal). And yet, just like his former G-Unit affiliates, Lloyd Banks dug his own grave with 50 in February 2016, when a picture of him and Game was posted on the latter’s Instagram page. 50 was quick to repost the picture with his own take on their "reunion," writing: "What do you see when you look at this picture? I see confusion, I'm not sure if it's just me, I'm a Cancer sh-t don't get old with me. I never ask for trouble but I really don't have a problem with it I'm different. The question isn't how I feel about it, but how dose ( Lodi Mac ) feel about it? Some shit is just better off left alone. #EFFENVODKA #FRIGO #SMSAUDIO."

August 2016: Game and 50 Cent seemingly squash beef at L.A. strip club

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After exchanging hundreds of diss tracks and verbal shots across ten-plus years, one of the most notable rap beefs of the 21st century came to an end in (where else?) a strip club. During a 50 Cent-hosted event at the Ace of Diamonds strip club in Los Angeles, Game took the stage and offered to squash their long-storied feud. "I fuck with 50," he announced to the crowd in a video posted on Twitter. "What happened that shit was 12 years ago. N****s ain’t on that shit…It’s 2016. Ain’t nobody on that old shit." Unlike their public "truce" in March 2005, this reconciliation seemed genuine, as TMZ posted footage of the two kicking it in the VIP section.

June 2018: 50 Cent announces Lloyd Banks’ exit from G-Unit

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March 2019: 50 Cent posts and deletes audio of Young Buck discussing sex scandal

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April 2019: 50 Cent trolls Young Buck's alleged transgender relationship, Buck challenges 50 to a rap battle

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May 1, 2019: 50 Cent mocks Young Buck with GoFundMe page

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May 6, 2019: 50 Cent deletes Young Buck's "Road Trip" video from YouTube

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May 8, 2019: Young Buck taunts 50 Cent with #Foffy Instagram post

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May 20, 2019: 50 Cent continues transphobic campaign against Young Buck

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