Written by Drew Ricketts

Enter a record-label sponsored listening party and expect a few standard perquisites plus a few more extravagant items that seem superfluous. On the standard list: free alcohol to grease up those good reviews (i.e. “The music reverberated while every head in the room bopped in a trance”); gift bags full of swag extras, promotional t-shirts, magazines you will never see again, posters; finger foods. G-Unit had their premiums in line but that air of domination, of kingdom beset the whole place in a strange fog.

Banks

For instance, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and various DJs stood behind the gift table with their hangers-on reciting the lyrics to every song. It was almost a performance in that sense, a lip-synced aggressive set supported by ten hype men in a small room. On one side stood Miss Info and a bevy of insiders. The other side had steaming hot mini burgers and a table with a bar. Lloyd Banks detached himself from the spectacle, allowing Tony Yayo to cue the songs in sequence and then, eventually, in any order he saw fit due to his inebriation. He held an empty (sponsored) champagne bottle in his right hand and a lit blunt and the microphone in the other. A Louis Vuitton headband corralled the sweat beads developing on Yayo’s forehead. His shades concealed what must have been bloodshot pupils. Gully.

Banks & Yayo

The Southside Queens Crew was in full effect, stripping away most of the glamor in favor of heralding murder, darkness and merciless acts. And it works, in all honesty. Although their “message” is not gibing with the Hip-Hop of today, their ornery gun talk fits well with what they established a fan base touting (like Miss Info mentioned to us, “This album is for the fans of Sabrina’s Baby Boy, not Curtis“). As far as entourages and surrounding characters go, this was an impressive event. Two blond young ladies sat adjacent a dark-haired, olive-skinned man in a suit. When I inquired why he was there saying “You look different than the other patrons,” he responded with “I’m a sponsor.” Got it.

His white-haired, equally tanned associate snapped pictures with Tony Yayo during the musical accompaniment. TC and M.Z. studiously listened to the music and added more pictures to The Smoking Section file cabinet. G-Unit’s “guerillas” were out in full force, making sure that no video or recording of the music was taking place (ironic when we have engineers admitting to leaking albums now). Sometimes briefly, we feel our exclusivity when we drop the TSS brand in an introduction. Although I’m certain Banks, Yayo and their media handlers give little thought to anything ending in dot-com or dot-net, our colleagues know who we are and treat us with deserved reverence (Shout out to Dre). Respect our fresh.

Banks & Yayo

Terminate On Sight returns G-Unit to its humble beginnings but, in its kitschy way, also mocks the idea of being a ruthless mercenary rapper. With The Game and Young Buck having defected from the clique, one can sense loyalty as a theme in their circle and on the record. To whit, there are so many soldier-in-line accents on the packaging it seems like a declaration of G-Unit as an actual army rather than a bunch of men pretending to be one. The enthusiasm Tony Yayo harbored was exhibited as he got “down” along to sounds of their collaboration with Swizz Beatz on “I Get Down.”

50 Cent however, was noticeably absent due to the strenuous filming of Streets Of Blood. Their album’s cohesiveness speaks to their resilience as a “unit” no doubt but, their leader clearly makes himself out to be an individualist with only his loyal followers to answer to. Yayo has happily accepted the role while Banks played the background, slowing enjoying his blunt unless spoken to in turn, he’d divulge any information you wanted to know. Young Buck, once renowned as the style juggernaut of the group, has struck out on his own. Despite Banks’ continued cries to the contrary, he is impatient to be known for his music more than for his affiliations. His verses on T.O.S. recall a fury (he’s added gruffness to his vocals) that he entered the mixtape circuit with.

After imploring Nigel of RealTalkNY to turn his camera off, and claiming not to care about “this industry shit” he laid low, a few times popping back up to repeat his lyrics. But the “jaw-dropping” moment of the night unquestionably came when Miss Info asked for Fiddy’s verse on “You So Tough” to be rewound for clarification. Let’s just say come this August, Paper Trail will have to answer to some of the questions raised Mr. Jackson. Their kingdom is still in good standing, however, because of a consistent willingness to be the grimiest spitters on the planet — regardless of any luxurious accessories.

Aggressive material such as “Straight Outta Southside” will likely put G-Unit in the same realm as the Gangster-Boss Motif that currently keeps Rick Ross and Jeezy afloat. Except, the attitude is not girded by the “Boss” himself, rather it’s manifested by the entire Army working as a Hip-Hop phalanx, ready to crush all opposing competition. The only question is, who will prove the next archangel to challenge the Kingdom?

July 1st. Grab your kevlar.

Banks & Yayo

Banks & Yayo

For more pics, visit the Flickr Photo Set.

Previously Posted – TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo