Game Over For 50 Cent?

 

It seems to me that the G-Unit camp is slowly starting to turn into the UK’s version of the So Solid Crew. With a total of 11 members, it may seem as though they are going from strength to strength, with the addition of such artists as Mobb Deep and Mase. But are they?

Head of G-Unit records, 50 Cent, on his second album release The Massacre, used his song Piggy Bank to declare war on other artists such as Fat Joe, Nas, and Jadakiss. This was the start of another great rivalry in the history of hip hop. The Game, then a G-Unit member, declared that he wished to work with certain artists that 50 Cent and his group were warring with. This angered 50, who then banished the Game from his group, claiming disloyalty.

Meanwhile, the Game’s first album The Documentary, released in January last year, went two times platinum, selling more than five million copies worldwide. The Game, then went on to build his own company, The Black Wall Street Records, founded in 2002, and has signed artists such as Charli Baltimore and DJ Skee.
Just as the Game’s popularity was increasing, G-Unit went from music and branched out into clothing, games and even a movie which the Game said in the outro to his mix tape Stop Snitchin Stop Lyin was “knock off 8 Mile shit”, in relation to the film that Eminem produced in 2002.

On March 9, 2005, at a press conference in Harlem, New York, USA, the Game and 50 Cent formally announced a truce in the wake of the anniversary of the ‘Notorious B.I.G’ Christopher Wallace’s death. At the Conference, 50 Cent stated: “In the shadow of the untimely death of Biggie, today marks the anniversary of his death, we’re here today to show that people can rise above even the most difficult circumstances and together we can put negativity behind us”.

The truce in this case, was short lived. Two months later, in June, on stage at a concert, the Game denounced his G-Unit heritage declaring the group G-Unot. You Know What It Is, a mix tape released in early 2005 was the first mix tape that had the Game rapping against his former recording artists. This was followed by two more mix tapes, including Ghost Unit and Stop Snitchin Stop Lyin.

The movie Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, based on the life and times of 50 Cent, was released the same week as Disney’s animated movie Chicken Little, and unfortunately for the G-Unit soldier, was out muscled by the animated adventure film, by its $32m grossing to 50’s $18.5m in the first week.

This became ammo for the Game’s arsenal, as he renamed the head of G-Unit Chicken Little. The Game stated that the Stop Snitchin Stop Lyin CD would be his last shot at G-Unit and he would then be moving on to fully focus on his second commercial album, The Doctor's Advocate.

This month rumours have surfaced that the war between the two are flaring up again, mirroring the murderous American East Coast-West Coast rivalry between Biggie and Tupac Shakur that left both of them dead. According to allhiphop.com, it has been said: 'With 50 Cent allegedly releasing a picture of The Game as an exotic dancer, the Compton (Los Angeles) rapper reportedly fired back over the weekend with a fury.'

It certainly seems as though the war between the Game and G-Unit is not going to settle down any time soon. As G-Unit begins to stale, it is the Game and his West Coast record label that look to be going from strength to strength. With The Doctor's Advocate hitting music stores in November, the West Coast could potentially take over the entire rap world, and I for one, would welcome it.