G-Unit Leaves Interscope

G-Unit Records has entered into an exclusive agreement with EMI Label Services in which EMI will distribute and promote releases on the G-Unit roster in North America. EMI will release the Grammy nominated multi-platinum rapper Lloyd Banks’ third solo album “H.F.M. 2″ (Hunger For More 2) on November 23rd, 2010, and Tony Yayo’s as yet untitled sophomore album, which is scheduled for early 2011.

G-Unit, formerly with Interscope Records, is joining a growing number of third party labels and artists to ink deals with EMI Label Services. EMI Label Services’ unique approach gives independent artists and labels creative freedom along with access to the expertise, marketing and promotional muscle of a major label.

The release Banks’ “H.F.M. 2″ (Hunger For More 2), which will include the smash single “Beamer, Benz, or Bentley,” featuring Juelz Santana. The single has generated sales of more than 500,000 downloads, making it one of the biggest tracks of the year. EMI Label Services team will begin promoting a second track, “Any Girl,” at Urban and Rhythmic radio formats this month.

A Tony Yayo album, which will include the single, “Pass the Patron” (featuring 50-Cent) is slated for release in early 2011.

“We are delighted to join forces with G-Unit and artists who aretruly marquee names in hip-hop,” said Mike Harris, executive Vice President/General Manager for EMI Label Services and Caroline Distribution. “G-Unit is a huge force. Lloyd Banks knows how to deliver a lyrical punch and his single has already generated huge anticipation for the album.. Tony Yayo is a totally unique talent, and ‘Pass the Patron’ already has the hip hop world buzzing about his album coming out next year.”

According to Lloyd Banks, “It’s refreshing to see the EMI staff excited about my project, they have the passion and energy I haven’t seen in while”.

Per Tony Yayo, “the EMI staff is creative and willing to think outside the box. They are fans of my music and career. I’m looking forward to marketing and promoting my upcoming album with them.”

Banks solidified his star power with the release of his double platinum solo debut, “Hunger For More” in 2004, selling more than 450,000 copies its first week of sales making it the #1 album in the country. The album garnered Banks a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance for “On Fire,” and included singles “Karma” featuring Avant and “I’m So Fly.”

Tony Yayo was catapulted onto the music scene in 2005 with the release of his debut album “Thoughts of a Predicate Felon” which went certified gold, and his smash hit single “So Seductive.”

About G-Unit Records

G-Unit Records is the label home for hip-hop superstars Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. The platinum-selling Lloyd Banks’ album, “Hunger for More” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 charts in 2004, contributing to career sales of more than 2 million units. Banks, along with childhood friends Tony Yayo and 50 Cent, formed a crew called G-Unit, a group that proceeded to redefine the term “street marketing” with a series of self-released albums/mixtapes. Banks appeared on 50 Cent’s classic debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, in 2003which introduced him to a mainstream audience. G-Unit then went on to release Lloyd’s first solo album Hunger for More in 2004 which featured the top ten hit single “On Fire,” which was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Rap Solo Performance. The HFM album was a commercial success, garnering critical acclaim and a #1 chart position, selling more than 450,000 units in its debut week. Lloyd Banks followed his debut release with Rotten Apple in 2006 and left Interscope Records in 2009 along with Tony Yayo. Yayo was a street legend long before releasing his first album. Prior to recording his debut, Yayo was incarcerated during G-Unit’s rise to fame and was the focus of 50 Cent’s highly publicized “Free Yayo” campaign in the mid-2000s. Upon his release in 2005, Tony Yayo announced his comeback with the hit single “So Seductive” and followed it up with his critically-acclaimed debut album, “Thoughts of a Predicate Felon”.

About EMI Label Services

EMI Music is one of the world’s leading music companies. EMI Music represents artists spanning all musical tastes and genres. Its record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, Manhattan, Mute, Parlophone and Virgin. Its EMI Music Services unit provides EMI’s roster of artists – as well as independent labels and artists – with a global menu of commercial services and seamless access to an expanding range of revenue streams.