G Unit

G-Unit (short for Guerrilla-Unit and Gangsta-Unit but, in the case of the clothing line, Gorilla-Unit, due to the United States' invasion of Iraq occurring concurrently with the clothing line's inception, and 50 Cent's desire for his clothing to be accessible to the public) is a rap group consisting of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck, along with several affiliated artists. The group's main musical styling is based around East Coast hip hop. The group originally had three members: 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. Young Buck joined the group after Tony Yayo was arrested due to an outstanding warrant. Yayo rejoined the group after his release from prison, officially making the group a foursome. A common misconception is that R & B singer Olivia (the "first lady of G-Unit") and Spider Loc are members of G-Unit, when, in fact, they are part of G-Unit Records. The group first garnered a following in the underground and "street" scene in New York by independently releasing several mixtapes. They also appeared on many other mixtapes, including those of DJ Kay Slay and DJ Clue. They now have their own DJ, DJ Whoo Kid. In November of 2003, the group released their debut album Beg for Mercy. It has exceeded sales of over two million copies. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The success of this album led Reebok to release a line of G-Unit Sneakers.