One thing about being a 23 year old who loves hip hop is that I came into my love of hip hop when the business was peaking. While the 90's were definitely the good old days with 90's hip hop serving me very well to this day, when I was moving into my teen years, certain artists and a certain brand of hip hop was on the radio.

Many, including myself to a certain extent, look at this period from 2000-2008 or so as a bit of a low period for hip hop but whatever. 50 Cent broke on to the scene while I was at intermediate school and after a few weeks I knew all the words to 'In Da Club'. If you were a bit older at that stage you might have looked down on all of this but at a South Auckland school, just as you start to figure out what music you like, enjoying these tunes was key as I tried not to get bullied, which tended to happen when you're the only white boy in the class.

This strategy worked wonders for me and 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin' is still regarded as a huge hip hop album, just straight up and down New York street raps. From that point on, 50 Cent and G-Unit ran everything from cellphones that could play mp3's to radio with 50, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck all making bangers while also collaborating as the Unit ... to make some bangers.

G-Unit has come full circle, their back together and have released an EP named 'The Beast Is G-Unit'. They've added Kidd Kidd from Naaaaawlins' (New Orleans) and after bumping the EP for a few weeks, it's fair to say that it goes hard. I was going to do what I do with new releases, write about them but mid-way through giving the EP a listen, I realised there was nothing I could say about it really because it's just good ol' G-Unit.

Instead, I've been able to reflect on my journey with G-Unit. In essence, I grew up with them and seeing them do the media tours of radio stations, interviews and all that, which artists do when they've got a new project sparked many, many thoughts. I'm 23 and I'm able to look back on the G-Unit with new information, little gems of wisdom and insights from the Unit that they've offered up over the past few weeks.

You may note that I left out Tony Yayo earlier when listing the Unit's members, Yayo was largely absent during 50's super success. When GRODT was released, Yayo was in jail but still featured on 'Like My Style' and we heard about Yayo but he was always absent. Whenever the Unit were seen in public, it was 50, Banks and Buck which could have thrown fans off thinking that Yayo simply didn't exist.

Many a rapper has fallen offside with 50, but one of the key things I took away from the Unit's recent interviews is that he's a very, very good boss. When Yayo was released form prison, he had everything he could want, he had a condo, females and all the marijuana his lungs could take in. Could you imagine coming out of jail and your life is better than it was before you went it? All because one of your homies hit the jackpot?

Yayo, Banks and Buck have all stated that 50 always made sure there was money in their pockets. When 50 went on tour, Banks and Buck came home millionaires and Buck stressed that 50 ensured that they would be paid, that they wouldn't be asked to tour with him on the low low.

That leads me to some guy named the Game and ofcourse, Young Buck. Both of these guys had their moments with 50 and let's be honest, both of them were/are better alongside 50. 'How We Do' and 'Hate It Or Love It' always go hard and it was pretty clear that the Game and 50 had the right recipe for success but they stumbled, which led to a elongated campaign of 'beef'. 50 is apparently someone who doesn't mind a bit of beef (it must be known that this is simply hip hop beef, not 'C4 to your door, no beef no more' beef as Biggie put it), whether it was Ja Rule or Fat Joe, 50 has a laundry list of artists who have gone toe-to-toe with him.

50 Cent is a street dude first of all, a hustler from the Southside of Jamaica, Queens. As Yayo kept saying in all of the recent interviews, 50 was the bully of the block, when you saw him coming you knew something was up. Hence the nickname boo-boo. 50 simply translated his success on the block to the music business which has served him pretty well, that he can make bangers as well sit around with businessmen at the table should serve as a testament to his genius.

50's bully nature was clear back in the day, so were his street credentials and if being shot is anything to go by, the G-Unit is about as street as they come. We all know that 50's been shot, but so has Banks, so has Buck and so has Kidd Kidd while Yayo obviously spent time in prison. I've always been fascinated by, I don't really know how to say it, street-gangsta-shit?? and this video of 50 and the G-Unit performing at Summer Jam back in 2004 with 50 odd goons/G-Unit soldiers gets me every time. There's a lot of gangsta rappers who have been in the game and there's many doing their thing right now, but they'd never top this.

That aspect hasn't slowed at all, with a couple of altercations taking place in recent years which funnily enough involved former G-Unit affiliates. Slowbucks and Trav could have even been on stage in that video, but for whatever reason they fell offside with the Unit and had run ins with 50 recently. Trav's incident was just a convo, but Slowbucks got his chain snatched while on stage with 50. Then their was the Steve Stoute incident at an NBA game where 50 got up in his grill and wasn't low key about it at all.

It's good to see the whole crew back together after Buck and 50 didn't see eye to eye for a while. That both men were able to re-kindle their flame in a sense is nice and kind of points to a bond that was far stronger than the relationship with the Game. It seemed like Buck had to do some soul searching, but both he and 50 speak very highly of each other and I better stop before this turns into a romance novel.

Through that time when G-Unit wasn't really existing, they were all doing their own thing. Not in a musical sense though. There's an ancient proverb thingy about giving someone fish or teaching them how to fish and I think this can apply to the Unit. Buck's had many financial troubles, especially during his time away from the Unit but he's never looked broke, none of them have. They've always been icey, which I hate to point out because I don't really follow that mindset, but the G-Unit's always had money. It's easy to imagine 50 Cent always having money because he's transitioned from street hustler, to rapper, to businessman but you'd have to imagine that he's also educated his comrades. Once you get a taste of a certain lifestyle, you want to keep enjoying that lifestyle which means you keep spending the same amounts of money. The G-Unit came to be when hip hop was in a money-making state, before the internet rose to prominence, where record sales could be combined with sold out concerts and merchandise to pile up the cash. All the members haven't stopped living a certain way, they've all maintained that lifestyle despite the music biz completely changing and you definitely can't say that they aren't astute businessmen.

I've got to talk about Lloyd Banks who is by far the best with the pen in the Unit. Well that's all that really needs to be said about Banks, the dude can definitely spit and he's been an integral part of the Unit. Like Yayo, Banks has stood alongside 50 throughout everything and he's widely known for being the most reclusive member of the crew. He's been consistent, despite being off the radar sporadically, he drops music here and there without the Unit and has been known to make a 40 year old feel like a young lady.

G-Unit are now moving into OG status. There's a younger crop of hip hoppers doing their thing, but the Unit has still found a way to stay relevant, it would seem that there's still a market for their music. Their comeback is coincided with 50 Cent leaving his Aftermath/Interscope situation which can be seen as the end of an era, the end of one of the most dominant hip hop movements ever.

Dr Dre has had his hand in two of these dominant hip hop collectives and has his stake in the up and coming Top Dawg Entertainment who if they haven't already, will be at the top of the game. Dre was apart of Deathrow Records who served up 90's magic, then Aftermath which had Eminem and 50 Cent and now he's executive producing Kendrick Lamar albums. Despite Dre's influence, 50 Cent seemed pretty comfortable in his decision to leave Aftermath/Interscope/Shady Records, 50 stated that his relationship with Dre had simply become just business and with 50's business interests directly competing with Dre and his Beats Headphones, there was no real future in their partnership.

Not to mention that Dr Dre and the Game maintained a solid relationship, which is fair enough given that Dre's influence was a key factor in Game becoming a G-Unit member also played a part. Yayo was quick to point out in one of their recent interviews that they were always down for the cause though, especially at the Vibe awards in 2004 when someone ran up on Dre and it was the G-Unit that handled their business. While it sounds like Dre might be a bit of a taboo topic for 50 and the Unit now, they never shirked their duties as soldiers.

The current label situation for the G-Unit and its members is complex to say the least. 50 Cent has gone borderline indie with Caroline Records, releasing his latest album 'Animal Ambition' via Caroline. Like all labels who appear to be indie, Caroline are owned by Universal Records so they're not really indie, but Caroline is a London based label that looks to be allowing 50 to do as he pleases.

'The Beast Is G-Unit' was released via G-unit Records which is distributed via Caroline Records. Individual G-Unit members appear to be signed to G-Unit Records along with EMI (Banks and Yayo) Capitol (Buck). It signals an interesting time as well as an exciting time for the G-Unit as they've always been able to handle themselves at the business table, led by 50 Cent they embark on a journey of relative freedom.

They've been on the map for nearly 15 years and without the politics and/or influence of Interscope, they can release little projects like 'The Beast Is G-Unit' with ease. Hearing the whole, 2015 version of the G-Unit is pleasure to the ears for those who have followed their journey this whole time and long may the bulletproof vest raps continue.