To most fans of 50 Cent and the G-Unit, Tony Yayo has been nothing but an abstraction. He's a name spray-painted on a wall. He's a cause silk-screened on a T-shirt. He's a homey shouted out on multiplatinum albums.
His situation, though, has been anything but abstract. His well-documented troubles started on December 30, 2002 when Yayo, 50 Cent and three others were arrested for gun possession before a pre-New Year's Eve show in New York. Yayo had been on the run from multiple warrants and his arrest led to a year-long stint in jail. In January 2004, just one day after being released, Yayo was caught for having a fraudulent passport, earning him another four-and-a-half months in federal prison.
Yayo's sentence coincided with the eruption of 50 Cent and the G-Unit into the pop consciousness, and he was forced to witness his crew's success from behind bars, isolated from the glory.
Just over a week after being released, Yayo sat down with MTV News, freshly dipped from a trip to Jacob the Jeweler and excited to be in the spotlight. Yayo shared his feelings on his prison term, his plans for recording and how he'll reintegrate himself into the G-Unit.
MTV: How did you feel when you initially got arrested on New Year's Eve?
Tony Yayo: I was stressed out but I knew it was gonna happen. I mean, I'm on MTV and I'm on BET. My probation don't even know I'm on the run. I had a warrant ... and I'm on nationwide TV. I think I'm the only rapper that's ever done that in history. You know, I was gonna turn myself in after [50 Cent's] Get Rich or Die Tryin'. But everything happened for a reason.
MTV: Was it hard watching your crew blow up and succeed while you're inside and not able to participate in it?
Yayo: You can't think about outside when you inside, 'cause you living a whole 'nother life. I can't worry about what records they puttin' out when I'm in a dorm with about 30, 40 n---as ... and some of them got knives and razors. I gotta worry about my phone time. I gotta worry about people scheming on me or whatever else 'cause I was in [the prison's general] population. I wasn't in protective custody or nothing. Yeah, I listen to my peoples blow up. Yeah, I was happy. But when I'm in jail, I gotta worry about me, what's goin' on for that day.
MTV: Everyone credits you for being the glue that holds G-Unit together. Why is that?
Yayo: They credit me 'cause I brought Banks to 50. And when 50 got shot, I was the one still standin' next to him. I always believed in 50. We from the bottom and if it wasn't for this, I'd still be sellin' crack right now.
MTV: What's your relationship like with 50?
Yayo: Honestly, I think I pushed 50 to keep going. 50 is a different type of person. He's been shot nine times. I'm the only person outta G-Unit that never been shot. So the way he carries himself is totally different from me. A lot of things he went through in his life, I don't think you would ever find another 50 Cent in the world ever again. He went through a lot of stuff and I was always there to support him and he knows he can trust me.
I mean, I told him to keep goin', keep goin', keep goin'. His work ethic is crazy. People don't understand. Everything happens for a reason in life. That's what I believe. Me being locked up happened for a reason. God forbid, I'd probably be dead right now if I wasn't locked up.
MTV: Did you spend a lot of time writing while you were locked up?
Yayo: Yeah, I was busy writing. That's all you gotta do in jail is write, do push-ups. Just hang around and watch your back. Jail is jail. A lot of people don't understand how it is on the inside. I think everybody in the world should do a bid just for like a month to see how it is, 'cause you see who your true friends are when you in jail or on your deathbed.
MTV: Most people aren't familiar with your rhyme style. How would you describe it?
Yayo: I'm hot ... and the sh-- I'm sayin' is real. What I'm saying is reality rap. It ain't stuff that I'm making up or saying I did something I didn't do. Everything I said in my rhymes I did. Out-of-state trips, slingin' on the block in the cold. Stayin' out all night getting chased by police. I had whole precincts chase me before.
MTV: You're going to be on Young Buck's album, too. What's your relationship like with him?
Yayo: Buck is the hottest dude from the South. Me and Buck is cool. A lot of people feel like Buck took my spot [in G-Unit] — I get that a lot — but I knew Buck for years, when he was on Juvenile's label. People try to divide and conquer, try to make groups break up. I stay hater-free every time I walk out the house. I buy my hater repellant, I spray it on and it keeps the haters away. You don't listen to what people say, 'cause me and Banks, we was riding in the hot van going to the studio and people didn't believe it was going to happen.
MTV: So when was the last time you spoke with Eminem? What did he say?
Yayo: I spoke with Em the other day. He just showed me love, you know? Em is a good dude. When I speak to him he just tells me to stay out of trouble 'cause he knows how I am. 50 tells me to stay out of trouble because he knows I'm not scared to go back to jail. Anything could happen. I could get violated tomorrow. When I go see my [parole officer] tomorrow ... I come five minutes late and he could violate me. I'm not scared. If it happens, it happens. Everything in life happens for a reason.
MTV.com
His situation, though, has been anything but abstract. His well-documented troubles started on December 30, 2002 when Yayo, 50 Cent and three others were arrested for gun possession before a pre-New Year's Eve show in New York. Yayo had been on the run from multiple warrants and his arrest led to a year-long stint in jail. In January 2004, just one day after being released, Yayo was caught for having a fraudulent passport, earning him another four-and-a-half months in federal prison.
Yayo's sentence coincided with the eruption of 50 Cent and the G-Unit into the pop consciousness, and he was forced to witness his crew's success from behind bars, isolated from the glory.
Just over a week after being released, Yayo sat down with MTV News, freshly dipped from a trip to Jacob the Jeweler and excited to be in the spotlight. Yayo shared his feelings on his prison term, his plans for recording and how he'll reintegrate himself into the G-Unit.
MTV: How did you feel when you initially got arrested on New Year's Eve?
Tony Yayo: I was stressed out but I knew it was gonna happen. I mean, I'm on MTV and I'm on BET. My probation don't even know I'm on the run. I had a warrant ... and I'm on nationwide TV. I think I'm the only rapper that's ever done that in history. You know, I was gonna turn myself in after [50 Cent's] Get Rich or Die Tryin'. But everything happened for a reason.
MTV: Was it hard watching your crew blow up and succeed while you're inside and not able to participate in it?
Yayo: You can't think about outside when you inside, 'cause you living a whole 'nother life. I can't worry about what records they puttin' out when I'm in a dorm with about 30, 40 n---as ... and some of them got knives and razors. I gotta worry about my phone time. I gotta worry about people scheming on me or whatever else 'cause I was in [the prison's general] population. I wasn't in protective custody or nothing. Yeah, I listen to my peoples blow up. Yeah, I was happy. But when I'm in jail, I gotta worry about me, what's goin' on for that day.
MTV: Everyone credits you for being the glue that holds G-Unit together. Why is that?
Yayo: They credit me 'cause I brought Banks to 50. And when 50 got shot, I was the one still standin' next to him. I always believed in 50. We from the bottom and if it wasn't for this, I'd still be sellin' crack right now.
MTV: What's your relationship like with 50?
Yayo: Honestly, I think I pushed 50 to keep going. 50 is a different type of person. He's been shot nine times. I'm the only person outta G-Unit that never been shot. So the way he carries himself is totally different from me. A lot of things he went through in his life, I don't think you would ever find another 50 Cent in the world ever again. He went through a lot of stuff and I was always there to support him and he knows he can trust me.
I mean, I told him to keep goin', keep goin', keep goin'. His work ethic is crazy. People don't understand. Everything happens for a reason in life. That's what I believe. Me being locked up happened for a reason. God forbid, I'd probably be dead right now if I wasn't locked up.
MTV: Did you spend a lot of time writing while you were locked up?
Yayo: Yeah, I was busy writing. That's all you gotta do in jail is write, do push-ups. Just hang around and watch your back. Jail is jail. A lot of people don't understand how it is on the inside. I think everybody in the world should do a bid just for like a month to see how it is, 'cause you see who your true friends are when you in jail or on your deathbed.
MTV: Most people aren't familiar with your rhyme style. How would you describe it?
Yayo: I'm hot ... and the sh-- I'm sayin' is real. What I'm saying is reality rap. It ain't stuff that I'm making up or saying I did something I didn't do. Everything I said in my rhymes I did. Out-of-state trips, slingin' on the block in the cold. Stayin' out all night getting chased by police. I had whole precincts chase me before.
MTV: You're going to be on Young Buck's album, too. What's your relationship like with him?
Yayo: Buck is the hottest dude from the South. Me and Buck is cool. A lot of people feel like Buck took my spot [in G-Unit] — I get that a lot — but I knew Buck for years, when he was on Juvenile's label. People try to divide and conquer, try to make groups break up. I stay hater-free every time I walk out the house. I buy my hater repellant, I spray it on and it keeps the haters away. You don't listen to what people say, 'cause me and Banks, we was riding in the hot van going to the studio and people didn't believe it was going to happen.
MTV: So when was the last time you spoke with Eminem? What did he say?
Yayo: I spoke with Em the other day. He just showed me love, you know? Em is a good dude. When I speak to him he just tells me to stay out of trouble 'cause he knows how I am. 50 tells me to stay out of trouble because he knows I'm not scared to go back to jail. Anything could happen. I could get violated tomorrow. When I go see my [parole officer] tomorrow ... I come five minutes late and he could violate me. I'm not scared. If it happens, it happens. Everything in life happens for a reason.
MTV.com
