Can you believe it? It’s 2014 and people are actually interested in 50 Cent and the return of G-Unit. I must be dreaming.

When Fif dropped his classic debut album Get Rich Or Die Trying, it was a monumental moment in hip-hop; the industry hadn’t seen someone this gritty and this close to the street life in a long time. On top of that, 50 was on the verge of introducing three equally hungry artists to the world: Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck.

50 has said in several of his recent interviews that Interscope wanted a new 50 Cent album soon after GRODT dropped – nothing G-Unit related. Despite that, Curtis forced Interscope to drop the group’s first collab album Beg For Mercy, as well as Banks and Buck’s debut LPs before 50 would drop his sophomore effort, The Massacre to make sure the Unit was on the same level as their general.

Although Yayo’s debut didn’t come until five months after The Massacre hit shelves due to legal issues, Fif made sure the world became familiar with G-Unit just as quickly as they became aware of himself. All of the aforementioned albums had booming first week sales and have since gone platinum – looks like 50 knew what he was doing.