Hate him or love him, 50 Cent’s entrance into the game was historic. Jay, Nas, Eminem, B.I.G., and Snoop were all highly anticipated artists but they couldn’t compare to the buzz surrounding 50 Cent.

Even the most die-hard 50 hater would have to admit that when the G-Unit boss was about to blow it was an exciting time for hip-hop.

Hot 97 was constantly playing anything that had his voice on it, whether it was an original song or a beat jack. The man single-handedly brought gangster rap back to New York with his uncanny ability to make the hardest hardcore track radio friendly. In addition to this, 50 all but invented the mixtape and laid the blueprint for every single rapper after him, although no one was able to duplicate the success 50 experienced.

With momentum like this, 50 could have released a Christmas album and gone triple platinum. Instead, he did the impossible and put out an album in Get Rich Or Die Tryin that exceeded the hype, propelling him to mega super stardom and diamond status with over ten million records sold.

After the success of Get Rich or Die Tryin the platinum continued to pour in for 50 and the G- Unit camp. Lloyd banks sold two million co pies of The Hunger For More and became a legitimate lyrical force to be reckoned with in the hip-hop world. In addition to Banks, G-Unit’s Southern connection Young Buck went platinum plus while Tony Yayo sold well past gold.

G-Unit as a collective released the multi platinum selling Beg for Mercy which spawned several massive hits like "Wanna Get To Know You", "Ride Wit U", and "Stunt 101". And let’s not forget The Game was rocking G-Unit sneakers when he sold 5 million copies of his well-received debut album The Documentary.

G-Unit was in full swing and hip-hop had never seen anything like it. 50 Cent’s second album, The Massacre, while not as critically acclaimed as his debut, had staggering sales of 1.1 million in just four days on the shelves.

At this point, 50 made some additions to G-Unit, signing veteran rap groups Mobb Deep and M.O.P. Also brought into the G-Unit fold were Spider Loc, Hot Rod, and the beautiful Olivia. The one G-Unit affiliate that really had people scratching their heads was former Bad Boy turned pastor, Mase. With the music industry changing and sales down across the board people wanted to know if G-Unit would stay on their hot streak.

Unfortunately, this would be when the unit would show their mortality. Expectations were huge for Mobb Deep’s G-Unit debut Blood Money. Despite the hype, the duo’s effort fell short, putting up atrocious first week numbers and shortly after the album fell off the charts.

Despite the fact that Mobb Deep’s album sales were never high by industry standards, fans expected G-Unit to lift the Mobb to a new level. Lloyd Banks' sophomore album, The Rotten Apple, failed to attain the level of past success, opening with first week sales of 140,000 and stalling at about 400,000.

The Game, for reasons still not one hundred percent clear, decided to leave G-Unit and wage a campaign against his former crew recording countless diss songs towards all the members of G-Unit.

G-Unit responded and the trading of verses went on for months at a frantic pace. People dressed up in costumes and shouted “G-Unot”. It came off as a pointless battle that had no real reason for starting.

Young Buck, who has established himself as a viable solo artist failed to meet expectations when Buck the World did not sell well at all. Once again, the sales did not match the hype for a G-Unit soldier.

Hatred for G-Unit is evident now, in the same way hatred was evident for Murder Inc Records, when 50 personally dismantled the once powerhouse label. Lackluster sales were one of the crew’s problems.

In addition to the sales it seems certain people weren’t pulling their weight at G-Unit. Despite guest appearances on 50’s huge hit singles “Candy Shop” and “Best Friend”, a good voice, and the looks to match, G-Unit’s first lady, Olivia couldn’t spark a real buzz.

Time, money, and effort were put into the singer but the public seemed to lack interest.

Many people believe G-Unit just isn’t the place for a lady. She was released from G-Unit records. Mase, who made several public appearances with the crew is now gone. There were contractual conflicts with Bad Boy but it seems Pastor Mase might have had another change of heart. 

The next obstacle for 50 Cent would be an overblown competition between himself and Kanye West, who would release their albums, Curtis and Graduation on the same day.

Despite the fact that the two artists’ are worlds apart in musical style, the public ate up the staged tension between the two stars. The competition became more of an election, and it seemed it was more, Fans vs. 50 Cent than Kanye West vs. 50 Cent.

Kanye outdid 50 in first week sales but 50 seemed to take it with a grain of salt and continues to push the album. 50 also had the number one album in countries where Kanye didn’t even chart.

Now, with more G-Unit projects approaching, such as the G-Unit album, plus reports that 50 Cent will be releasing his final album on Interscope, Before I Self Destruct in April 2008 just months after Curtis, people are wondering now more than ever: Is G-Unit still on top?

While a few signs point to the contrary like Hot Rod and Spider Loc’s never-coming release dates, reported infighting amongst M.O.P, and Prodigy getting ready to serve a three and a half year prison sentence, people don’t make hundreds of millions of dollars and classic songs without extreme ability.

50 Cent undoubtedly has a few tricks up his sleeve and he’ll do it with the team he came in with. The Unit is far from over.