50 Cent
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Thursday night was just a regular evening at the movies ... well, if you're used to seeing 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo at the theater! Fif held a screening of his film "Before I Self Destruct"; the movie shares a title with 50's new LP and they will be released together on November 16.

"I'm trying to be ahead of the curve because things are changing in music," 50 told the audience at the AMC Loews Kips Bay 15 theater in Manhattan on Thursday. Members of the audience included Red Café, Uncle Murda, radio personality Miss Info, DJ Jazzy Joyce and actor/MC AlBe Back.

For Fif, the "Before I Self Destruct" film "was an opportunity to show the cause and effect" of a good guy gone bad. Fif also said making a 90-minute film presented an opportunity to get more in-depth than a three-minute song.

50 stars as Clarence, a street-basketball superstar with enough promise to possibly make it to the NBA. When he injures his knee during a game, his hoop dreams are smashed and he's left to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. When Clarence and his genius pre-teen brother Chaka suffer the ultimate family tragedy, Clarence turns to the streets for salvation and money. He becomes a ruthless hitman for a local kingpin played by Clifton Powell. Lloyd Banks also has a role as Chaka's school teacher — yes, Banks appears in a dress shirt and tie, surprising the crowd with a character no one expected.

One hilarious moment during the screening came when 50 had to cry onscreen, and an audience member started to laugh. 50 himself yelled from his seat, "Shut up, n---a!" causing the entire crowd to laugh.

Also released with the album and film will be the documentary "2 Turntables and a Microphone," which explores the murder of Run-DMC DJ and 50 mentor Jam Master Jay. The trailer was shown at the screening on Thursday night as well.

"[Jam Master Jay's nephew] Phonz was working on that project for five years," 50 explained to MTV News a little over a year ago. "He came to me, and I shot my [interview] portion that's on the documentary. We met in Atlanta the first time and ended up shooting in Amsterdam.

"It's not a random act of violence," 50 also said about Jay's murder. "People just don't walk in your studio, shoot and kill you with several other people around, and no one knows anything. I believe the documentary sheds light on it — a little bit. It creates a clearer picture of what actually happened at that point. People just heard, 'Jam Master Jay got shot.' They don't understand the circumstances. [The film] creates some clarity."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• 50 Cent And Ne-Yo Release 'Baby By Me'
• MTV News RAW: 50 Cent

• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

Lloyd Banks
Photo: MTV News

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

Lloyd Banks is back on the mixtape scene with a full two CDs at once — V5 is coming soon.

"V5 — this is my second double-disc this year," Banks said at his squad's Forever Young Day in Queens, New York. "This one I been working on. It's already done. I've been doing a few things on the side. I just did the 'Bandana' record with Maino and a few other things. I've just been working. That's been put in the cut; I'm hoping to do a couple of videos. I've always wanted to do those [with each mixtape project], but I'll get a call like 6, 7 in the morning saying I gotta go to Africa.

"But V5 on the way — it's gonna drop any day. Thirty songs. This one is the one, man," he added. "I been working so hard."

Banks was pleased to be featured in the recent Hottest MCs fan poll and is looking to see if he'll make the official list.

"I'm gonna show you why I was even brought up on the MTV list," Banks promised. "V5 is gonna speak for itself. Thirty records — it's going down."

Also, the only feature on the new mixtape is Tony Yayo.

"I kept it to me. They putting the pressure on me. They wanna see what I'mma do next, so I'm gonna knock them over the head and then gear up for my new album," Banks said.

"After I heard his mixtape, I went back to the drawing board," Yayo offered. "The stuff I'm hearing from these dudes, we hungry. It's like we ain't got no money, no cars, no girls. I just keep doing me. Sometimes Banks give me the energy, 50 give me the energy. Young Buck is gone, Banks is gone — they don't give me no energy. But the Unit, I believe Game said, 'Yo, we broke up the Beatles.' The Beatles is still here. This is the original format right here."

The Streets Is Talking: News and Notes From the Underground

Before we peace out, a little bit more from Nas. We recently brought you info from an interview Esco did with our MTV News fam from the U.K. with our MTV News fam from the U.K. Nas said he had some apprehension about recording a new LP, and some of that nervousness had to do with the recent media scrutiny of his divorce from Kelis.

"Yeah, a little bit of that," Nas admitted. "And a little bit of I wanna do so well. I don't wanna let people down. I wanna put out something that makes sense and I definitely want to put out something that is true to me."

Nas also hinted at why he missed guest spots on albums such as The Blueprint 3 and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. II.

"I get a lot of flak, 'cause I get a lot of people call me to be on their albums and I'm not really there in their headspace to do it and maybe they think I'm tripping out," he said. "But it's not the case — I really have to be in the right headspace. So hopefully I'll get it done and it'll come out soon."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, DMX, KRS-One And More

• Lloyd Banks

Lloyd Banks
Photo: MTV News

The 1515 Boys (that's us, in case you didn't know — shout-out to El and B. Dot, though) want to thank everyone for the success of Mixtape Daily's first week. We had Lady Gaga, Drake, the sexy Nicki Minaj and a bunch other cats you need to be up on. You have been telling us for a while you wanted more, and last week, y'all showed up and we put up numbers. With that said, let's keep doing it. We'll be the suppliers, you log on, and we'll stay one big happy family. To kick off this week, we got the young gun from Miami Ace Hood and Southside's own Lloyd Banks. On Tuesday, come back for Killa Cam!

This Week's Main Pick

Street King: Ace Hood

Co-Conspirator: DJ Dirt Dawg

Holding It Down For: Miami

Mixtape: The Preview

Real Spit: Ace Hood insists his debut LP, Gutta, was a slept-on classic. But regardless of the sales, when DJ Khaled is running your team, you'll get opportunities. True to his word, Ace won't fold. His new mixtape is here. "I wanted to give the streets a taste of my new mentality and new personality," he said of The Preview.

Official Recognizance: "Get it by all means," Ace said of the title of his new album, Ruthless. "I'mma continue to stay humble, but it's been lot of situations in which we gonna get it by all means. Khaled put it in my head we gotta go hard, go hard, go hard. Whether or not they willing to give it to us, we gonna take it anyway. Get it by all means. Whatever it takes to get it to the top, whether they tell us we can't, we gonna do it anyway." Look for Jazmine Sullivan on a song called "Champion." Ludacris is on the album, as well as the Birdman and Rick Ross. The first single is "Overtime," of course, with Akon and T-Pain.

Joints To Check For

» "Straight Outta Broward." "Broward is ... my home," Ace said of the Florida county. "We holding it down, man. This song, I took it back to the N.W.A days, when they was holding it down and it was 'Straight Outta Compton.' I wanted to flip it and give it my swag: 'Straight Outta Broward.' "

» "Hello." "Based on just stuntin'," he said about the record. "When you ... with your lady and y'all shining. You Gucci, Louis Vuitton down. She's Gucci, Louis bag down. You swaggin' with them 28s on that Cutlass, you straight stuntin'. You wave at them haters: 'Hello!' "

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

	MIXTAPE DAILY Who's next and who dominates — right here, all week long!
	»Mixtape Daily Main Pick: Ace Hood and Lloyd Banks
	»Other Notables: Cam'ron and Drake
	»Celeb Faves: The Game, Andre Iguodala
	»Firestarter: Wale, Fabolous

Last week, Lloyd Banks showed love and broke down his new mixtape. Now, the G-Unit soldier is focusing on making a real LP. He's excited to be free from Interscope for his solo projects.

"I was ready to make a move," Banks said about leaving the 'Scope. "I'm a brand-new engine. If anything, it's their loss. It's been a dark shadow cast upon that. That's why you hear [Funk Master] Flex on the radio [boycotting Interscope], because it's an aura created around that machine, and the artists automatically get smacked in the head."

Banks is referring to a recent on-air tirade from Flex, who promised to not play any Interscope music because of the way he was treated by one of the label's executives.

"[An artist signed to Interscope] doesn't even know what's going on," Banks added. "You just turn on the radio, and they're saying, 'F--- Interscope Records,' and you fall into that batch. So it's almost a foul taste in the mouth when they deliver the record. I felt it's time for me to go somewhere where it's not biased and I get a fair shot. There's a lot of stuff on the table right now. You don't wanna speak about it until it gets ironed out all the way."

By the way, the rumors can stop right now: Banks isn't leaving G-Unit. Even though 50 is the boss, Banks and Yayo are co-founders. Can you imagine the Unit without either one of them? Banks said he's still moving under the team's umbrella, whether he goes with another major or even independent.

"Everything happened for a reason," Banks said. "I feel like I'm so blessed because of my work ethic and how easy the music is coming to me. It feels so good to be an independent artist with a brand. I have direct deals with iTunes and things of that nature, where it's direct money coming to me. It's 50 percent of me that's not pressed to be on a major.

"I have the Lloyd Banks branding and also the G-Unit branding," he added. "It hasn't really been an artist out there independent that is still capable of getting out there and regenerating energy. Most of the [well-established] artists that's independent, it's after they dropped seven or eight albums on a major. I have two albums off a major, and everybody is anticipating what I'm doing now off of the mixtapes."

Banks said Polow Da Don, Swizz Beatz and Just Blaze will be contributing beats to his new LP, and he wants some of the A-list MCs to get down as well. "I'm gonna get with the heavy-hitters and make something happen, make a classic album," he promised.

Banko is also eyeing a reality-TV show, similar to "For the Love of Ray J," on which he'd go out to Cali and women would compete to date him. "It's really not a rush," he said about shooting the possible series. "I'm good financially."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily Video: Lloyd Banks, Fabolous, Ace Hood, Cam'ron, Drake & More

• Lloyd Banks
• Ace Hood

Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj
Photo: Courtesy of Young Money

It's official, people. Mixtape Daily is here. That's right, daily. Mixtape Monday had a phenomenal run. For over six years, the weekly segment became an institution. Every week, it was your one-stop shop for everything related to the streets. But we promised you bigger and better things in 2009, and we're men of our word. We're going to keep bringing you all the exclusives and insight you've come to expect. We're just expanding and refocusing.

Enough with the talk, here is this week's main pick, the new hip-hop bad chick.

This Week's Main Pick

Street Queen: Nicki Minaj

Holding It Down For: Jamaica, Queens, and Young Money

Mixtape: Beam Me Up Scotty

Real Spit: Yeah, you are going to hear a bunch of more-than-just-friendly shout-outs to the ladies — Nicki says she loves the girls and has no problem surrounding herself with "bad bitches."

"A bad bitch is an exclusive, smart girlie-girl who holds her own," she explained. Minaj is from the same Southside Queens neighborhood as Mixtape Daily co-founder and host Shaheem Reid.

"Seeing a lot of crackheads — a lot of drug dealers," she said, describing the neighborhood when she was growing up. "I was on crack. I went to rehab. ... No, I spit that crack. That's what I meant."

Minaj attended LaGuardia High School -- the performing arts school on which the movie "Fame" was based — where she studied not music, but acting. She got into rapping after hanging around all her dudes who rhymed.

"I used to make stuff up and spit it and eventually just started getting dope — I think people just started taking me serious," she said. Nicki was discovered by Lil Wayne a couple of years after the New Orleans MC saw her on the street DVD "On the Come Up." "I was OK, but I wasn't focusing on the music. I was doing pictures and stuff like that, so people knew me more for pictures than my music," she continued. "But with the Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape, they have to take me seriously as an artist. So, I would say maybe a year ago, I started sharpening my skills. Recently, I've been singing more. Now it's official — it's going down like 'Town Julie Brown."

Nicki — or "Lewinsky," as she calls herself — says that touring with Weezy, Drake and the rest of the "Young Moolah" crew had a serious impact on her and the mixtape.

"It made me hungry. That's what inspired me and the music for the Beam Me Up Scotty tape — the 'I Am Music' tour."

"It's a good opportunity to always find that new chick in the game," Atlanta's DJ Holiday said. "She's gonna have a good, successful career. It's hard to find that somebody who has that niche, that star power. She can rap, she can sing. She connected with everybody in the streets."

Nick is also down with the same management team behind Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman, thus all the collaborations with that crew.

"Gucci is real fast," she said of the difference between him and Wayne. "He'll force me, like, 'No, no, no. You're taking too long.' Wayne, we'll have more of a laid-back situation. He'll give me time to tweak a little more. But they both teach me a lot — they both a have a crazy work ethic. Wayne is my sensei. That's what I call him. He calls me his ninja. 'Ninja Nicki.' "

Joints To Check For:

» "I Get Crazy" (featuring Lil Wayne). "A real dope record," she said. "I did it and I let Wayne hear it. He played his guitar on it and put his whole rock sound on it. I switched up my verses after he did that, I have to admit. That's kinda taboo in hip-hop to switch up your verses after [they are laid down], but he kinda bodied me and he stepped the energy up on it — so I stepped my energy up on it. The new version of 'I Get Crazy' is like a rock feel, 'cause we're just all rocked out. Being a lunatic and not caring."

» "Kill the DJ." "A dope, fun record that all my girls like," Nicki said. "It's saying that if the DJ doesn't spin my record again, I'm gonna kill him. But DJs like being killed by me — they like being straddled and choked, you know."

» "Envy." " 'Envy' is a song that I wrote, like, a year ago. Being a female and trying to get into hip-hop, you're damned if you do/ [damned] if you don't type of thing. Other girls don't wanna see you shine. I said on the record, 'Still I rise.' These girls are like crabs in a bucket — I feel if you allow one girl to get in the door, she's gonna hold the door open so everybody else can come in. I look at it like it's about us. Female rappers are dead. Where are we? 'Envy' is a very personal record for me because it's real."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Happy birthday to Lloyd Banks! The onetime "Boy Wonder" just hit 27 on April 30 and celebrated by giving a double CD to the streets — his fourth since September.

"I'm still younger than the average rapper," he laughed when called on his actual birthday.

As young as Banks is, he's still a vet. For the mixtape, he spread it out some and reached people from New York and beyond.

"I got a track called 'My Way or Nothing' with Uncle Murda," Banks explained. "You know what it is? I'm a fan of a lot of these MCs. A lot of people got egos. I've been doing this for seven years now. I feel like a veteran. It gets to a point where, c'mon now, we gotta stop all this. If you like somebody's record, you won't say it because of your ego? I appreciate what Uncle Murda brings to the table.

"Uncle Murda did what I expected him to do and more," he added. "I reached out to Nipsey Hussle too. I appreciated what he brought to the game. It just feels like something new. He's from the West Coast, he brings the whole culture back into hip-hop from his side. I respect that. I got a track called 'Real Recognize Real' with Jay Rock. It's the opening track and it's my favorite track on the album. I sent it to him and he sent it to me in a half-hour. That made me realize I gotta keep grinding, because you got artists out there like Jay Rock that's hungry. It makes me go harder. I'm just trying to spread it out."

Banks says he's going to be working with a lot of new artists as well as seasoned cats, like as Gucci Mane, Red Cafe (look for another "Hottest in the Hood" remix with Banks, Busta and Juelz) and a few other names you know.

"I'm just trying to get in there and mix magic and work with a lot of these artists I've appreciated over the years. I got a record in the works now with me, Juelz, Fabolous and Jadakiss called 'Welcome to New York.' I'm waiting to get the final touches on that. I'm a grown man now. Everybody gotta get their grown man on and get in to the studio and make magic."

Banks also cleared up the rumor that he was dropped from Interscope Records. He hasn't been signed to the label since 2007, when he fulfilled his contractual requirements. He hasn't decided what label his next album will be on, but 50 Cent will definitely have it under his umbrella. He'll continue to drop mixtapes in the meantime — it's like practice.

"On the second CD, I got the 'Officer Down,' the Gillie Da Kid remix I put together for Get Down," he said. "There's another record on there called 'My Girl,' 'cause a lot of females are in tune with the mixtapes too. They don't all wanna hear 'shoot 'em up, bang bang.' They wanna hear records like 'Life Goes On,' where I'm speaking about personal experience. 'My Girl,' I got the Rich Girl remix on there. The second CD is more like a party CD. Whoo Kid recorded it with a live feel.

"I went back to a record called 'Money Moves the World,' " he continued. "The second CD is a mixture of new records and records that come in between the mixtapes. I would leak scattered records between mixtapes, so if you're never on the Internet, you might not have heard it. So, I wanted to grab all of those favorites and put them back on the CD — now you got a double CD. The double CD is pushing the bar now."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily Video: Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lady GaGa, More

• Lil Wayne
• Jadakiss
• Lloyd Banks
• OJ Da Juiceman
• Gucci Mane

Lloyd Banks
Photo: MTV News

G-Unit's Lloyd Banks has been at odds with Rick Ross since the Miami MC And now that Ross has been hinting at battling Eminem, Banks says that Ross has gone too far.

"As far as calling out Eminem, c'mon man. That's just gonna make me spank on you even harder," Banks said Thursday (April 30), before revealing that he has another diss record coming for Ross, who he slammed with his recent "Officer Down" track.

"I got 'Officer Down, Part II' coming. He'll have to deal with that," Banks added.

To backtrack, on Thursday Rick Ross released a video from St. Maarten, where he is vacationing after his Deeper Than Rap LP debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart this week. He then turned his attention to the G-Unit/ Shady camp, who recently put out a video by Banks and DJ Whoo Kid promoting their new 4-30-09: Happy Birthday, Vol. 4 mixtape. In it, Whoo Kid admonished Ross for calling the Unit "monkeys."

"You know now they saying 'monkey' could be [a] black-on-black racial [situation]," Ross says to his friend Gunplay in the video.

"Cut it out, that's racial. You can't call other black people monkeys," Whoo Kid said.

In Thursday's video, Ross took the slur to Eminem.

"The only way I could fix that — Eminem you're a monkey," Ross said in his video. "He's really a honky [pronounced to rhyme with 'monkey'], but that's racial. You n---as monkeys. The world knows you're monkeys."

Banks didn't take kindly to the Em insults.

"As far as calling out Eminem, you're not in the top 10 lyricists nowhere," Banks said. "So just sit down, man. We seen what Em can do. Em's in a whole 'nother lane. How do you go from praising somebody in one interview to calling him a 'monkey' in the next? He's been in out of pocket too many times. We'll see where his future goes. It doesn't look too bright, if you ask me."

Banks also said that Ross has nothing to be proud of as far as Deeper Than Rap's first-week sales go.

"First of all, his first week [sales] was 150 thousand and change," Banks said. "That was with two or three months of promotion, beefing with the most popular rapper there is right now outside of Eminem. There is no bigger promotion than that.

"He reminds me of 12 or 13 year old," Banks added. "You know he's always lying. He said he spoke to [G-Unit employee] Nelson [allegedly about offering Ross money to end the beef], and it already was put out there you didn't speak to him. Then you say, 'I took the [prison-guard] position because my boss asked' him to. They didn't need you to go to the penitentiary to make a buck. C'mon."

Despite his response to Ross, Banks was actually in a great mood: It's his 27th birthday, he just released the Happy Birthday mixtape, and "Officer Down" has been a stronger seller on iTunes.

"If [Ross] responds, it benefits me," Banks said. "It goes straight to iTunes. I found a way to make money off a beef."

• G-Unit
• Eminem
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks

50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct was delayed to make way for Eminem's Relapse (due May 19), and the G-Unit General raved about Marshall Mathers' latest.

"It's great," 50 said of the album, sitting between Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo in New York last week. Eminem announced that soon after Relapse, he'll be putting out a follow-up LP this year.

"You can't ask for more excitement from a hip-hop perspective than two Eminem albums," 50 said. "One is great. It's a treat. But the second one is exciting.

"Actually, it was my idea for him to release two albums, because he had so much material over a time period," Fif added. "The [second album] kind of feels like a sequel. They're both written to one album topic almost, that it felt like part one and part two of the [same album]. They tie together."

50 said he plans to duplicate Slim Shady's game plan and put out two albums of his own within months of each other. The first will be the long-talked-about Self Destruct, and 50 is keeping the second project's title to himself for now. The move could mean that 50 is planning to extend his contract with Interscope Records. In past interviews, 50 promised that if his renegotiations didn't go well, a greatest-hits album would be the last record Interscope would receive from him and new material would be housed elsewhere.

"They should look for Em in May, me in June, then his second album will come out and my second album will come out a month after that," 50 said of his team's release schedule.

There is still no word on Dr. Dre's Detox. The record has been hampered by several leaks of unfinished material from recording sessions with T.I.

• 50 Cent
• Eminem
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

Audience members at the "TRL" finale in New York on Sunday
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Sure, "TRL" made the likes of Justin Timberlake, Good Charlotte and Beyoncé household names, but it was the fans that made "TRL" the pop-culture phenomenon it was for the better part of a decade. Day in and day out, it was the fans who tuned in to get the scoop from the artists themselves about everything from music to marriages and everything in between. Not only that, but fans got once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet their favorite pop stars, thanks to the show's access.

And fans — as well as "TRL" legends like 50 Cent, Kid Rock, Fall Out Boy, Nelly and original host Carson Daly — flocked to Times Square to say goodbye to the countdown show for "Total Finale Live" on Sunday (November 16).

One group of girls drove all the way from San Diego to be a part of the show's swan song. And although they didn't make it up to the studio, they said it was all worth it to be in New York for the big send-off. "It was an unforgettable moment," one girl told MTV News.

	Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, More Bid Farewell To 'TRL' 'TRL' Finale, Behind The Scenes: Kid Rock Meets 50 Cent And More 'Total Finale Live': Stage-Door Interviews Fans Call 'TRL' Finale 'A Great Way For The Show To End' Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Nelly Ham It Up At 'Total Finale Live' Rehearsal

It should have been, considering all the troubles the girls faced to be there. The girls braved thunderstorms, a 42-hour drive and a 10-hour wait just to be in Times Square for the finale. "We came at, like, 6 in the morning, and no one was here, and then we came back at 1 [p.m.]. It was crazy!" the girls said. "We started crying, 'cause we didn't think we could get in."

They didn't get in, but they insisted: "We were just happy to be here in New York City."

Another group of friends had better luck — although they did run into a little trouble with the law. "It felt great [to be here]," one said. "[Our] friend almost got arrested. He hopped the [subway] turnstile and got a $100 ticket."

"It was worth it," another chimed in. "Everyone was screaming. Everyone was bugging out. I got to hug Lloyd Banks. [I was excited we got to see] Beyoncé. We love her to death!"

Two other "TRL" fans admit that the finale was a great way to say goodbye to the countdown show. "I got to see Carson," one said. "We'll miss 'TRL.' We're just happy to celebrate with you guys! It was a great way for the show to end!"

Share your "TRL" memories with us! Upload a video to YouRHere.MTV.com telling us what the show has meant to you for the past decade, and the best ones could end up on MTV.

For everything on "Total Finale Live," including bonus performances, behind-the-scenes action and more, head to TRL.MTV.com. Plus, check out our stage-door interviews with 50 Cent, Taylor Swift, Ludacris and many more superstars at the big show.

• 'TRL' Finale: Fans React
• 'Total Finale Live': Stage-Door Interviews
• TRL's Total Finale Live: Performances

• Total Finale Live: Show Highlights
• Total Finale Live: Performances

• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Nelly
• Justin Timberlake
• Fall Out Boy

50 Cent
Photo: Vince Bucci/ Getty Images

A black commander in chief who's not Barack Obama? Could it be?

Curtis Jackson announced his bid for the Oval Office over the weekend when he posted a song via his Web site called " 50 Cent for President." Although the track doesn't really dwell too much on Fif's political views (which have been up in the air during this year's presidential election), he does reiterate that he wants to be music's number-one candidate.

"My main aim is to take away pain," he raps, giving a glance into his campaign platform. "It's OK — get f---ed up, man/ ... For five years, I'm the n---a you been hating on/ December 9, I'mma give you what you waiting for."

That date he refers to is the planned launch of his next album, Before I Self Destruct. During the last minute of the track, 50 just talks, telling the listener he's in Detroit working on the album with Eminem and Dr. Dre.

"I'm like Prince right now," he says in the song. "This is like 'Purple Rain,' baby" — in the sense that he's putting out an album and a companion film simultaneously. The album, he promises, will have a similar feel to his debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

"What we did in the past doesn't even count to n---as no more," G-Unit member Tony Yayo told us recently. "You gotta stay on n---as' necks now. [The fans,] they wanna hear some new sh--. Hip-hop changes, man.

"Ain't no love in the industry," Yayo added, addressing the reception to the G-Unit group effort T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight. "You just have to be business-orientated. T.O.S. was a good album. The streets loved it. It wasn't commercial. And basically, it's something on the catalog; we go to the next project. I feel like a new artist right now. I feel like we're starting all over."

Yayo said that the low sales for Terminate on Sight have only driven the Unit's captain to make some of his best work to date. Still, Yayo said the meager SoundScan showing last time around had nothing to do with his camp's musical quality.

"T.O.S., I feel like sometimes the things that 50 and Jimmy Iovine go through trickle down on us," Yayo said. "50 is the kind of person, he has so much power and money, sometimes I think the label gets intimidated by that. None of his artists have to starve. Me and Banks and Buck, we all was good. If Interscope don't wanna throw me an advance, I can always get the quarter mil, half a mil from Fif. I feel [T.O.S.] wasn't marketed, period. Even with the iTunes, people tried to order the album, they couldn't order the album. We had weak preorders. We didn't go on a good promo run. ... 50 has one more album left [on his Interscope contract]. If you're Jimmy Iovine or somebody, when you know you have that leverage, why not let the G-Unit album fail so we can give you less money if you come back to negotiate with us? If the album does well, I have to give you more money."

On the movie side, 50 isn't letting a major company interfere with his artistic vision. He wrote, co-directed and stars in the "Before I Self Destruct" film.

"Fif is a brilliant businessman," Treach, one of the movie's co-stars, said. "He let me know all the money he spent on his first movie, 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'.' He was like, 'I'll never spend that much on a movie again. I know the numbers now. I know how to make it. It ain't no six months on a movie type sh-- no more.' The game changed on the music front and on the movie front. He knows how to cut the corners, what needs to be done, how much time, the budget. He's on his game. He's doing things on his pace that he's gonna put the official stamp on Hollywood. He's gonna change the game for Hollywood."

Treach — who along with the rest of his group, Naughty by Nature, will be given major props as part of VH1's "Hip-Hop Honors" on October 6 — says 50 called him to be down with the production through a mutual friend.

"50, we got family from the same Queens area," the rap legend explained. "When he had the 'How to Rob' record, the only name he didn't mention was Treach. A homie of ours, J. Jesses Smith, he's directing [the movie]. We done some work on some videos back in the day and stuff. We work at the same gym, me and the director. So he was like, 'Fif wanted to get a role for this movie he's shooting.' One night, he wanted me to come in and check the set. He was filming in the projects in Patterson, New Jersey. So I came through, 2 in the morning, kicked it with the homie. That next week, he had a slot for me to come up and do a scene. I have a nice little scene in there."

Treach also noted that 50 has compartmentalized his two careers. "50 is so coordinated with his stuff, he don't clutter his box up," Treach said. "When we doing a movie, we talking film business. When we doing music, we talking music business."

There is no official word on when the "Before I Self Destruct" movie will be released. There has also been no announcement on whether the film will come out in theaters or go straight to DVD.

• 50 Cent's Star-Studded U.S. Return

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo perform in New York City on Tuesday
Photo: Jeffrey Ufberg/ Wireimage

NEW YORK — Somebody left New York's Nokia Theatre Tuesday night without her underwear. 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo were rocking the crowd toward the end of the concert, when 50 told DJ Whoo Kid to stop "In da Club." A bra had landed onstage.

"This means I'm the hottest one in the group, right?" 50 said with a smile as he held a black bra in his hands. (Check out photos from the show here.)

"What does this mean?" Fif asked. "I see you, girl."

Seconds later, a Louis Vuitton-patterned thong was thrown at the Unit.

"That ain't right, baby," 50 told the woman. "You nasty."

"I don't want those," Banks said. But 50 walked over to the crew's "Punchline King" and shoved the drawers in Banks' pocket.

"He can be the hottest one in the group," 50 laughed. "I'll be number two."

Banks just reiterated he didn't want any part of the undergarments. "Them sh--s ain't even Victoria's Secret."

"Back to the music," 50 insisted, signaling Whoo Kid to drop the next record, "Disco Inferno."

Years after 50 first released the song on 2005's The Massacre, the risqué anthem still has the same impact.

"Li'l mama, show me how you move it," the crowd recited with Fif.

The show started off with a strong call and response as well. The Unit came out with their military officer uniforms, as seen in the "Rider, Part 2" video. As the Auto-tune ad-libs of the records go, 50 had the audience yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Soon afterwards, LL Cool J came out for "Straight Outta Southside." Cool J added his verse from the mixtapes, giving the record a remix feel that the Unit obviously appreciated.

"Straight out the north side! Farmers Boulevard, n---a, stand up," LL rapped with ferocity. "I got the whole 'hood with me, n---a, man up/ I'm from the rock where the muthaf---in' thugs be/ Megan Ave., my blood n---as love me."

The mood shifted to please the ladies with "I Like the Way She Do It," then transferred to the thug side of things with "You So Tough." The song cut off before 50's controversial verse that some say disparages T.I.

They moved into Tony Yayo's "Pimpin" and then "I F---ed Your Bi---," from the Elephant in the Sand mixtape. The latter track, which has been released only on the underground market, got one of the strongest reactions of the night. In fact, the Unit's live versions of hard-core album cuts and street CD offerings kept the energy going seamlessly as they transitioned from performances of singles.

When they got to Lloyd Banks' "Cake," 50 had his accomplice stop just a couple of lines into the song.

"You know why I don't wanna do that?" 50 asked out loud. "[The song] says, 'Buck got the shotgun.' F--- that sh--!"

After "Ain't No Click" and "Hate It or Love It," 50 seemed to soften his stance on Young Buck. For about two seconds.

"I wanna do Buck," he said, before mocking Buck's "Shawty Wanna Ride With Me." " 'Shawty Wanna Cry With Me.' Y'all wanna hear that? 'Shawty Wanna Cry With Me.' "

"I Get Money" got the biggest reaction of the night, although "What Up Gangsta" gave goose bumps and shook the building like it was 2003 all over again. The Unit's last few songs were "Just a Lil' Bit,' "Candy Shop," "P.I.M.P." and "Outta Control." After about 90 minutes on the stage, 50 told Whoo Kid they had two minutes left.

"What you got?" 50 asked. Tired of waiting, the Unit's General had a good time joking on his DJ, asking the crowd, "Is anybody a DJ in here? This n---a Whoo Kid is wack!" Finally, Whoo Kidd threw on "Window Shopper."

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• G-Unit Perform At The Nokia Theatre In New York

• G-Unit
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo
• Young Buck

50 Cent in New York on Monday
Photo: MTV News

He didn't say T.I.'s name — but the general consensus by hip-hop fans, journalists and bloggers is that 50 Cent took a jab at the King of the South on the G-Unit's album cut "You So Tough." Fif's alleged implication about Tip? The unbelievable: that T.I. is a snitch who's working with the authorities to get a lighter prison sentence.

On the record, which appears on the Unit's new Terminate on Sight LP, 50 raps "Nowadays this rap sh-- ain't adding up/ How n----s get caught with 10 machine guns, only get 12 months/ Oowee, don't talk to me/ You talk to him, you talking to them."

"I got the best lawyers that money can buy," 50 rapped on Monday, finishing his verse for MTV News, alongside Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. "They say at best they would've got me 10 or maybe nine/ I said, 'How do you explain how homie breezed?' They said, 'You keep your mouth shut or you eat the cheese.' "

Of course, everyone is inferring that 50 was talking about Tip's recent legal woes. Charged with a slew of gun-possession charges, the Atlanta rapper would have faced a severe sentence if he had gone to trial and been found guilty. However, with a plea bargain, T.I. is only expected to do a year in prison, starting his sentence sometime in 2009.

So why the swipe at Tip, who 50 has been known to be cool with? Fif noted that he didn't mention anyone's name and even clarified that he had no beef with T.I.

"It's like 'CSI': You use real-life situations to create something that's entertaining without being specific," 50 said. "When have you known me to be indirect with an issue? If I had a problem with any artist, trust me, they would know. I take [that situation], and I write that because a lot of people think that. They're not saying it because they're cowardly people. When you write it and put it there and leave and say, 'Let me watch and see what happens.' There's so much controversy around it, and you didn't say anything. Then you go, 'See, they think that.' They just won't say it to him because they're a bunch of punks."

Back to the question at hand: Is the "him" Fif was referring to T.I.? "[It's] absolutely for the public to decide," 50 said. "My intentions — you know me, you know my MO — I would just say something. It's not really directed at him. It's me taking real-life situations. These things are relevant to hip-hop, period. I make something that's interesting enough for people to sink their teeth into, and I move forward."

The next single from the album might very well be the one Yayo likes the most, "Straight Outta Southside," a tip of the fitted cap to N.W.A. as well as the slain Southside Queens, New York, native Sean Bell.

"My favorite, hands down, is 'Straight Outta Southside,' " Yayo said of the track, which was leaked a couple of weeks ago. "Rest in peace to Sean Bell. It's a tribute to him. It starts off the album. It's real aggressive."

"My favorite song? It changes, [but] right now it's 'Closer,' " 50 weighed in. "It's a song Banks kinda created the chorus for. It was one of the last songs we recorded. That could have something to do with why it's one of my favorites, 'cause we just made it."

Banks himself said he's partial to the title track. "It's so bouncy," the former Boy Wonder said. "Each one of our flows is completely different. It's hard, man."

"This is the first album we actually made together," 50 added about working with Yayo and Banks. "Yayo was incarcerated while we did Beg for Mercy. He was only featured on a couple of pieces. He missed out on that one. He was there in spirit, but he wasn't there."

Obviously, Young Buck was featured prominently on the last Unit project. But following his dismissal from the group, Buck only appears on a few records.

"I treated him like a younger brother," 50 said. "For him to say and do the things he did — made a whole 'nother space for him. I pardoned him a lot for the things he said and was doing. Finally, he exhausted it."

MTV News will have much more from our sitdown with G-Unit in the coming days — and head here to find out what happened during this interview to make 50 say, "I get to kiss all the lovely white girls!"

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• 50 Cent
• T.I.
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

50 Cent's 40 Day Community Celebration In Queens, New York

• 50 Cent
• Tony Yayo
• Lloyd Banks
• G-Unit

Which Of These Artists Is The Hottest MC In The Game?

• Wale
• Jay-Z
• Asher Roth
• Kid Cudi
• Cam'ron

On The Set Of G-Unit's 'Like The Way She Do It' Video

• G-Unit
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

50 Cent's 5 Borough Tour Hits Manhattan

• 50 Cent
• Tony Yayo
• Jim Jones
• Lloyd Banks

DMX, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, More At Hot 97's Back To School Jam '06

• 50 Cent
• DMX
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo
• Mobb Deep

Sucker Free on MTV: Fall 2006

• 50 Cent
• Hot Rod
• Lloyd Banks
• Chingy
• Jibbs

Sucker Free on MTV: Summer 2006

• Danity Kane
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Cham
• Three 6 Mafia
• Lloyd Banks

50 Cent Performs In London, 10.16.2005

• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Young Buck
• G-Unit

Spankin' New Music Week: Lloyd Banks Photos 11.08.2004

• Lloyd Banks

50 Cent, R. Kelly, Fat Joe, Kanye West, Others At Summer Jam 2004

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Lloyd Banks
• OutKast
• R. Kelly