RAP BEEF TIMELINE · 2004–present
50 Cent vs. The Game
G-Unit, Hot 97, “300 Bars,” and a long-cooling truce
Jimmy Iovine’s G-Unit pairing turns 50 Cent and The Game into a hitmaking alliance before loyalty clashes explode on Hot 97 in 2005. A short public truce collapses into “Piggy Bank,” “300 Bars & Runnin’,” and years of subliminals. They publicly squash the conflict in 2016, but later retrospectives keep the legacy present rather than making the relationship an active partnership.
THE RECORD
The moments
Music industry
The G-Unit pairing turns into a hitmaking run
Jimmy Iovine places The Game in G-Unit as his debut takes shape. “How We Do” and “Hate It or Love It” turn the pairing into a major commercial alliance even as label and loyalty friction reportedly grows behind the scenes.
▶ Watch “How We Do”Read the receipt ↗Physical altercation · disputed account
50 removes The Game from G-Unit; Hot 97 turns volatile
On the air, 50 says The Game will not remain in G-Unit, citing loyalty disagreements around his conflicts. Game’s entourage then arrives at Hot 97; a confrontation and gunfire outside are widely reported. Accounts of the incident differ.
▶ Watch The Game revisit the Hot 97 incidentRead the receipt ↗Reconciliation
Harlem press conference makes a temporary truce
With pressure mounting, 50 Cent and The Game appear at a Harlem press conference, shake hands, and announce charitable contributions. It produces a public pause, not a durable creative repair.
▶ Read the 2005 truce reportDiss track
“Piggy Bank” restarts the fight
50’s “Piggy Bank” widens the G-Unit feud to The Game alongside Fat Joe and Jadakiss, ending the brief public calm and setting off the G-Unot era.
▶ Watch 50 Cent’s “Piggy Bank”Read the receipt ↗Diss track
“300 Bars & Runnin’” makes the G-Unot campaign explicit
The Game responds with a lengthy diss track that turns the breakup into an identity-level campaign against G-Unit.
▶ Listen to “300 Bars & Runnin’”Read the receipt ↗Diss track
“So Disrespectful” keeps the cold war on record
The immediate street-level heat is lower, but 50 uses “So Disrespectful” to revisit old antagonisms in the late-2000s afterlife.
▶ Listen to “So Disrespectful”Read the receipt ↗Diss track
The Game keeps the crown talk alive on “Uncle Otis”
The Game’s mixtape-era “Uncle Otis” continues the long-running competitive talk, framing his status against the New York power structure in a later cold-war phase.
▶ Listen to “Uncle Otis”Read the receipt ↗Reconciliation
Ace of Diamonds provides the live truce
The two cross paths at Ace of Diamonds in Los Angeles. The Game uses the microphone to call the feud squashed, ending the active public war more than a decade after Hot 97.
▶ Read about the Ace of Diamonds truceInterview
The Game revisits 50’s role in his rise
In a Drink Champs reflection, The Game discusses 50 Cent’s contribution to his brand and the era’s mechanics. It frames the rivalry as history rather than an active exchange.
▶ Watch The Game’s Drink Champs reflectionRead the receipt ↗Interview
50 revisits the G-Unit era in long form
50 likewise returns to the G-Unit years in a later Drink Champs conversation. Together, the retrospectives keep the relationship in a dormant, not active, state.
▶ Watch 50 Cent’s Drink Champs reflectionRead the receipt ↗
THE RECEIPTS
Sources and listening
Complex — 50 Cent & The Game timeline ↗Complex — The Game revisits the 2005 Hot 97 shooting ↗CBS News — 50 Cent and The Game declare a truce ↗TMZ — 50 Cent and The Game squash the beef ↗Exclaim! — 50 Cent and The Game end decade-long feud ↗ARTIST LENSES