Beg for Mercy


Beg for Mercy is the debut studio album by G-Unit, at the time composed of rappers 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck, with support from Tony Yayo, who is an original member but was in prison at the time of the album's main recording as well as release, and newest member The Game, who was inducted into the group after recording sessions were already finished. The album was released in November 2003, 9 months after 50 Cent's successful debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

Background

"I've been promoting G Unit since before I even had a record deal," says 50. "All the music I put on the mixtape circuit was 50 Cent and G Unit."
As the album was recorded, Tony Yayo was sentenced to jail on charges of gun possession and bail jumping, and so he makes only two appearances on the entire record, on the tracks "Groupie Love", and "I Smell Pussy". His image is seen on the brick wall of the album cover as he could not be photographed due to the jail sentence.
At the time of the album's release, rapper The Game was just placed in G-Unit, therefore he is not photographed, nor does he make an appearance on the album. He does however make cameos in the videos for singles Wanna Get To Know You & Poppin' Them Thangs. He is also mentioned in the lyrics of Poppin' Them Thangs when Young Buck raps, "You ain't no Crip like Snoop, / You ain't no Blood like Game."

Sales and certifications

In its 1st week of sales, Beg for Mercy sold 377,000 copies. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, behind 2Pac's , & Jay-Z's The Black Album. Its bow was moved up from November 18 to thwart piracy, as was Beg for Mercy. Beg for Mercy then sold 330,000 copies in its 2nd week to peak at #2 on the Billboard 200, while moving another 195,000 units in its 3rd week. By April 2008, it had sold over 2.7 million units in the U.S., 5.8 million copies worldwide, and has since been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.

Track listing

;Samples

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Dutch Albums 97
UK Albums 199
US Billboard 20020
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 8

Certifications